Up sprang a cuckoo
by Sidura
Summary: Dean Forester blew up at the Marathon because he was sick of pretending not to notice. Unfortunately, when his family found out about what happened, it meant he had give up pretending to be the normal teenager that Rory had gone out with as well.
1. Chapter 1

**okay this is a silly idea that popped into my head and I wrote it. And yes TL22 I said I'd never post it and I know it needs beta'd but here it is - well the first part of it anyway**

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><p>She tapped on the window, it had taken all her courage to do it, but she knew she had to try before she could be happy with Jess. It wasn't as if she had meant to hurt him, she couldn't help the fact that she liked Jess, it wasn't like she hadn't tried to make it work, even if in the end it had hurt him more, make him try harder, become more possessive and jealous because he was right - she liked Jess more than she said she did.<p>

She tapped again, hoping that he was just in the bathroom, that he'd come back to his room and see her there, let her apologize or at least try to, though when the door opened it was Clara that entered the room, all puffy eyed and wearing one of Dean's sweatshirts, her face hardening the second she saw Rory's face in the window.

"Clara?" Rory asked as the ten year old faced her down. It took a second before the young girl moved to close the blind.

"Clara, I need to talk to Dean."

"Tough, go back to Jess. Hope you and him choke," Clara replied as the blind went down.

Rory swallowed. "Clara, I came to say I'm sorry."

Clara pulled up the cord letting her look Rory in the eye, "You came to say sorry? Well tough shit!"

"Excuse me?" Rory said taken aback by the younger girl's statement.

"I said tough shit or didn't you hear me?" Clara asked causing Rory to sit there in silence.

"He's gone; he left before Uncle John came for him. So take your apology and go shove it up your ass Rory. All he wanted was out, to be like everybody else; to retire like my Dad did," Clara spat out. "But, they heard what happened and now they've told him he's got to go back, told him he'd had his couple of years of normal, he's had the time to get it out of his system. But, he had you. They were putting all this pressure on him to go back, but he had you and they knew it. They would have let him stay out of it, or they would have let him stay for a few more months at least. But not now, because you wanted Jess. He was going to use the time to ease Uncle John into letting him go to college. He was going to try for Harvard because of you, he's smart enough for that, but not now, no way in hell will Uncle John let him now, because he doesn't have you as an excuse. They would have understood him wanting to go to college to make sure you were safe, but now he's screwed. They'll make him chose, them or his life and if Uncle John don't like what what he picks, he'll cut him loose. He'll be on his own."

"You aren't making any sense."

"Don't you get it he's gone!" Clara said. "You aren't going to get to apologize. He isn't going to pat you on the head and make you feel better because he's gone. He hauled ass about an hour ago and I don't blame him. 'Dean Forester' to you is dead!"

"Dead, what do you mean dead?" Rory asked.

The small girl old drew herself up to her full height as she tried not to cry, "Go home Rory, go away."

Rory took a deep confused breath. "Dean's gone?"

"Yeah, he's gone he left about an hour ago. There isn't anything left for him here he said. But I swear Rory, my Dad might not have trained me but if anything happens to him because of this, I swear, I will make you regret it." Clara said before drawing the blinds again.

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><p>"I don't get it," Jess said as Rory looked out of the window.<p>

"She said he left an hour ago. The last bus to New York was at ten and the next one to Hartford isn't till 11.30 and he isn't at the bus stops and he didn't take the pickup so he'll have to be hitching," Rory said as she looked at the map.

"If he wants to go, you can't stop him," Jess said. "Let him go Rory. It isn't your problem. If he's decided to leave then it's his family's problem and he won't thank you for getting involved."

"He left because of me, because of what happened. I need to make sure he's okay," Rory explained.

"Why? Because a kid threatened you?" Jess asked.

"She wasn't making any sense."

"Do you want him back? Do you want to get back with Bag boy?"

"No," Rory said. "I… just want to make sure he's okay."

"Fine," Jess grumbled as they caught the figure in the distance walking along the road. A figure, who was talking to someone in a car that was moving slowly along the road beside him. They watched someone get out of the car before it sped up and spun round before screeching to a halt. The action caused the figure to dump the duffel it was carrying before taking off in the other direction though it only got a few yards before being brought down by the other man who then proceeded to haul his cargo into the back seat before going for the duffel bag.

"Holy shit!" Jess exclaimed as they watched the scene.

"Oh my god!" Rory cried as she fumbled for the phone. "Please…please, don't let. Oh god! 911 what's their number."

"They'll be long gone before the cops will get here," Jess said as they watched the car drive off.

"What?" Rory said as she rang she tried to work the phone, her brain not working properly at that moment.

"Hold on," Jess said as he sped up trying to keep up with the black car.

They drove about three hours down the road, watching the car stop at a gas station and both men getting out of the car. Jess told her to stay in the car and to call the cops as he crept up the side of the sleek black muscle car keeping out of sight of the men at the counter to look inside the car.

His head was lolling a little and his face a little tear stained as he held the bottle of tequila in one hand and brown bag in the other. Jess tried the door handle.

"Bag Boy!" Jess whispered trying to get the obviously intoxicated inhabitant to notice him. "It's locked, open the goddamn door."

"Fuck can't a guy get drunk in peace, why don't you go and mess up someone else's life" came a slur.

"Yeah right, I really want to be here right now," Jess said pulling on the handle. "Pull the latch, open the door and let's get the hell out of here, Dean."

He started to laugh, and pointed into the store, "No Dean here, Dean in there."

"What? Cut the bullshit, open the door before they come back," Jess said before he jumped.

"Sorry," Rory said. "I called the cops and my mom and…is he drunk?"

"Yeah, looks like they liquored him up," Jess said as he started to look around for something to force the door, though in the end he picked up a rock to smash the window.

"Try that kid and you'll lose your arm," came the voice behind them as Jess slowly turned round to see the large man standing behind him.

"They ain't damaged her have they?" the other younger man asked coming round to check the side of the car before he heard the wrenching coming inside the vehicle, "Shit, the upholstery."

"He's got the bag son." The older man said with a laugh before turning his attention to the other two teenagers.

"Go home, this ain't your concern," the older man said. "The boy's fine. We're dealing with him."

"Dean's coming with us," Rory piped up from her place behind Jess causing both men to straighten.

"Is he now?" the older man said. "'Dean' is going with you?"

"Yeah, she's right, so let him out and we'll take him home," Jess replied.

"Right," the younger man said, before bursting into laughter "Dean's going with you? That's a good one!"

The older man just shook his head and walked round to the driver's seat as the younger man got in to tend to the puking figure in the back. Leave Rory and Jess standing in the dust as the car was put into drive and sped off.

"We've got to follow them," Rory reasoned. "We can't leave him with them."

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><p>They found the black car in the parking lot of the first motel they passed on the interstate, it hadn't been there for long, the engine was still warm. Jess had just finished talking to Luke when they saw a man in a trucker cap banging on one of the doors to the rooms, only for it to be opened by the younger man from the car. They caught sight of a figure lying on the bed with the older man sitting beside them. Jess grabbed hold of Rory's arm.<p>

"We can't just leave him there with them!" Rory exclaimed.

"We're not were going to call the cops,"

"But my Mom is saying the Forester's are saying he isn't missing, that he's gone on a road trip with his family. The cops aren't looking for him."

"We'll call the cops and say that some guys have a drunk kid in their room," Jess said. "They will come for that."

"You sure?" Rory asked.

Jess nodded, "Yeah I'm sure."

About twenty minutes later after the cops had entered the room, they left one of the officers shaking the older man from the gas station hand as a young woman pushed passed the policemen and entered the room.

"They're leaving?" Rory asked as she watched the patrol car pulled out of the lot.

"Yeah!" Jess said. "Always can trust the cops to do the right thing."

Pulling out his phone and calling to see how far out his Uncle was from them at that point.

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><p>"Seriously? The kid gets his heart broken and you decided to pour half a bottle of tequila down his throat?" Bobby asked John.<p>

"He'll feel like shit and it'll be out of his system," John barked back. "He'll get over it."

"Right, so says the guy who dragged that kid round half the country because of what happened to his woman," Bobby spat back causing the atmosphere in the room to cool.

"Thin ice Bobby," John said coldly as both Dean and the girl Leila watched the exchange.

"Stop the horse shit right now John, this is me. Neither one of us are exactly lily white on this subject," Bobby retorted as Sam started to throw up again.

"It's okay kid, just bring it up," Leila said as she rubbed Sam's back, while giving Dean the evil eye.

"Don't look at me, I said take a drink, not down the bottle," Dean replied.

"Some brother you are," Leila said. "Grabbing him off the street. What the hell were you thinking?"

"He had taken off, he knew we were coming to pick him up, but no he decided to take off," Dean replied.

"Oh hell Dean, I wonder why? He's just broken up with his girlfriend, he's been playing idiot at some backwater school and to top it off his father orders him back on the road."

"Girlfriend is gone and we still don't know if he's done what he was supposed to have done."

"What?" Lelia replied. "You can't be serious Dean? You can't be serious that was the reason why your Dad pulled your brother out of there?"

"You know why we all signed off on the whole idea was because my brother wouldn't say if he had or hadn't yet."

"All signed off? Are you insane?"

He sighed. "Leila."

"And why the hell was everyone complaining that he wasn't like you?" Leila said. "That he wasn't willing to be loose it in some closet at the age of 14."

"As I remember you weren't exactly being coy," Dean replied.

"And that is why I thank you for helping me realize I'm a lesbian, Dean," Leila retorted.

"I still think that you should give me another shot to change your mind on that," Dean replied.

"I told you, the only Winchester I might be willing to see if he can rethink my attitude was Sammy and that was before I got into a proper relationship not to mention he wasn't legal at the time I said it. So hate to break it to you I'm sworn to women; and no, I am not supplying you with the 'real deal' when it comes to lesbo porn."

"You are no fun," Dean replied. "Anyway, if you aren't willing to help with Sammy with this, I'll guess we'll have to find some other way."

"That is why, when he wakes up if he isn't 100 percent happy he is coming with me," Lelia said firmly. "I don't care if Randy and May say he's welcome anytime, he isn't going to end up scared out his wits when you find some hooker to deal with it – again!"

"He wasn't scared he just didn't expect it that is all and it was a dancer not a hooker. He needed cheering up and that was the only entertainment that town had," came the reply.

"You get a kid with strep throat a bowl of chicken soup and maybe a balloon, you don't buy him a 'at home lap dance'!" she quietly said as John and Bobby bickered in the corner to which Dean sighed.

"It was Sammy," Dean said running a hand over his face. "He'd been stuck at home for a week and he was...well he was miserable."

"Yes, but you do know that just because you'd like strippers to visit you at home doesn't mean he does - he isn't you," Lelia replied.

Dean pouted. "He knew what he was supposed to do when he went to stay in that town; but you didn't help filling his head with all that love and it can be forever crap."

"Jesus Dean, you've lived your life because of 'it is forever crap' even if your Dad hasn't been completely 'faithful' to your mother's memory. Though I suppose becoming an all encompassing bastard to kill the thing that got her counts."

"Lelia, there is a line."

"Yeah, I know it and John crossed it when he sent a teenager to a New England on his own with orders to find a girl to lose his cherry."

"And he was there for how long?" Dean replied.

"So he found a nice girl he actually liked, why is that a crime?"

"You know that in Sammy's head he was there so he could try and do the whole 'normal' shtick."

"And if I remember right there was a time you were thinking about doing that, Mr Judy Blume," Lelia replied.

"Come on that lasted all of ten minutes."

"Yeah, the time it took for Alison Sullivan to blow both of us out and for you to drag me into that closet. But don't tell me that before that you weren't planning how you could get to stay in that town after the dance, just to hang around her."

Dean took a breath, "And your parents hadn't hoped that we'd hook up and take care of things when they suggested that they and my dad took that hunt together."

She took a breath. "Okay, we've both got fucked up parents."

"How are Randy and May anyway?" Dean asked.

Lelia shrugged, "Okay I suppose. Truth is you probably know more than I do."

"Right, still not happy about…"

"They're okay about their eldest daughter's life choices regarding who she hooks up with Dean. It is just we butt heads that is all. Thought it would get easier when Dad quit the life you know."

"Fucked back or not, you know Randy's head is still in the game."

She nodded, "Yeah, which is another reason that your dad and my parents deserve a kick up the ass. _'Hey Sammy, be normal. That is until we want you to crawl about the backwoods of Connecticut on a Friday night to deal with little minor shit we found'_"

"Don't be like that – it was a good trade off. Kept him sharp."

"No wonder that girl found someone else. You screwed Sam's head up so much he didn't if he was coming or going – working two jobs, doing school work under two names, then hunting and training on the side. I'm surprised she didn't kick him to the curb sooner because that and the fact that he had to act like an idiot at times because of it and couldn't tell her why, would have made me ditch him."

"I'm betting Clara's happy about the situation," Dean said with a smirk.

"Shut up Dean," Leila retorted as Sam started to stir.

"Oh come on it's cute, _'Yes Sammy, No Sammy, Oh sorry, I have to call you Dean when people are about don't I_?'"

"Leave my sister alone Dean, she's got a crush."

"Yeah, I said it's cute."

"Well, I'm glad she thinks the sun shines out your brother's ass because she had the sense to call me."

Dean sighed. "Like I can't look after my own brother."

She looked at the prone figure lying on the bed, "What possibly might give me that idea."


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay her comes the part where a lot more is explained.**

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><p>They stood outside the door listening intently to the sounds of the two older men arguing though they couldn't make out the words.<p>

"Jess! Rory!" Luke yelled as he bounded up the stairs closely followed by Lorelai.

"Mom," Rory said flying into her mother's arms, "We…I …Mom, he's in there and we have to get him out. Jess said…. Oh, we couldn't, because it's just us and because there are at least four of them in there and it would have just been me and Jess."

"Cops shook the bastard's hand," Jess said to his Uncle bitterly. "But we couldn't … it would have been just…. I might hate the guy, but I swear he doesn't deserve to be in there but if we… there is at least four of them in their Luke and I wasn't going to put Rory in there ."

"It's okay you two did the right thing," Lorelai replied, placing a comforting hand on the teen's shoulder

"You two stay here," Luke said as he moved to bang on the motel room door causing it to open by a large unshaven man.

"What?" he said as Luke peered into the room to see Dean Forester barely conscious and in the process of being undressed by a girl and a younger man.

"I've come for the kid." Luke said firmly as he barged into the room to be followed by Lorelai who picked up the jacket which had been thrown on the floor.

"Yeah, people, here for the kid so give him to us and we'll go," Lorelai said.

"Who the hell are you?" another man in a trucker cap asked.

"I don't know who she is but I think he runs the diner," the girl said nodding in Luke's direction.

"The douche's dad?" the younger man asked.

"Uncle," the girl corrected. "And you don't know the kid is exactly a douche."

"Stole the girl – douche!" the younger man said.

"One of your subjects then," the girl retorted mockingly as she glared at the younger man. "Girl had to want to be stole in the first place and I wonder possibly why that might have been?."

"Isn't no business of yours Lelia," the older unshaven man at the door said.

"You made it my business when you came up with the stupid idea in the first place," replied the girl only for the older man to narrow his gaze at her causing the already tense atmosphere to turn even frostier.

"Dean is coming with us," Rory said piping up causing not only a break in the tension but the older unshaven man to smirk before he turned to the younger man by the bed.

"Well Dean, you going with them?"

The younger man shrugged. "She's cute but a little young for me, what about you sweet heart?"

"What?" Lorelai asked before blushing. "Ehm, I don't know who you are, but this ends. We are taking that kid home."

Luke took a step towards the bed before the older unshaven man took a step barring his way. "Take your girl and your kids and go now before this turns ugly."

Luke clenched his jaw, "I don't know who you are or what you said to the cops but that boy is coming back with me."

"The cops have been and gone, so no he isn't," came the reply.

"You should listen to the man because even though the local police seem to have lost their minds we haven't. So this situation is going to end up one of two ways. You letting us take the kid you abducted on the street and from the looks of it, drugged or got drunk, or you guys ending up on the local news as a nice segment." Lorelai said taking out her phone to which the man in the trucker cap moved to take the cell off her before picking her up and carrying her out of the room as the other man got in Luke's way.

"Isn't your business lady," the man said as he put her down on the landing, before turning to Luke and the others, "Leave now."

"No I'm not, that kid might not be my favorite person, but that boy is coming with me," Luke said to which the younger man by the bed stood up.

"Last count four of us, one of you, mouthy lady, douche and junior slut there. Do the math."

"Not sl..t," came the mumble from the bed, "My fault. Lies, lot of lies, too many lies but not sl.. Goin' puke."

"Dean," Rory said making a move towards the bed only to be pushed back by the younger man.

"Back off. We're taking care of him!" Came the firm warning. "Get out and take your 'boyfriend' with you."

"What?"

"Yeah, tip kid. Do yourself a favor; just admit you play for the rainbow coalition. Don't just hang around a girl to make your little hetero town like you a little better."

"Excuse me?" Jess said as his hackles rose further.

The younger man let out a laugh. "Come off it, if you really wanted her, you would have made your made play within 30 seconds of actually meeting her. Not drag it out over a year."

"This isn't your business," Jess said.

"Isn't it!" the younger man said before being held back by the girl.

The older unshaven man tilted his head as he began to glare at Luke. "You own the diner on the main drag of that town?"

"What?" Luke asked. "Yeah?"

"You're the diner owner who had him in a head lock?"

"Bobby?" the girl carefully said causing the guy in the trucker cap to get in between Luke and the older man.

"John, it was a while ago and he told you to stay out of that," the man said before he turned to Luke. "We aren't going to hurt him, so you leave now before this gets to a really bad place. As the boy said four of us and you got 2 kids here, this can't go anyway but bad for you. The kid is fine so best you go."

"We shouldn't leave," Rory said as Jess took her by the arm and lead her out of the room.

"I know," Luke muttered turning to Lorelai.

"You know how to get hold of the state police?"

She shrugged, "We can go through the local ones again."

"I wouldn't do that," the girl said as she followed them out the room.

"So you're Rory and the walking cliché," she said with a smile as she weighed up the two teenagers.

"Hey," Jess said. "If you weren't a …"

"Girl?" she said with a smirk. "Please, if I had a nickel."

"That boy shouldn't be left…" Lorelai started to say.

"And?" the girl replied before looking at Rory. "So you're the one that they were pissed about?"

"I….?"

The girl sighed, "He's fine, I'll get him to call to let you know that he's okay. But that may be a while."

"He has family, they'll want to know where he is," Luke said.

"Call them then?" the girl replied. "Rory should know the number. You can use my cell that is if you don't have one."

Lorelai hesitated a second as the door to the motel room opened and the man wearing the trucker cap peered out. "Lelia, get more towels too."

"Sure Bobby," the girl said as Rory used her mother's phone.

The group hesitated as they waited for an answer.

"Hello, Mrs. Forester," Rory said as Dean's mother picked up.

The girl gestured to Rory to give her the phone. "Hi Mom, it's me….yeah found them. He's okay. How's Clara doing, still sulking?"

They watched as the girl talked down the phone. "Yeah….well…honestly? The Jose cure-all…. Mom, I got here after they poured it down his throat."

There was silence for a few moments. "Well, he's brought most of it back up and what the hell do you expect me to do? Go up against John? You may think that I have a death wish, but I'm not that suicidal."

The girl held the phone away from her ear for a moment giving the group a smile before she began to listen to the woman at the other end of the line again.

"Mom, yes I promise," the girl said. "Mom, he's over 21 …no, I won't let him take…yes Mom, I know that Dean can find one down wind and in a blizzard but…I'll get Bobby to talk to John. Yes Bobby is here; why? Because it's Bobby and yeah I was working a job with him and okay it was in the area. No I'm not keeping anything from you guys. Mom, the docs said that his vertebrate are fused…No I'm not saying that Dad isn't capable of helping, but he knows he can't move like the old days."

Lelia's face fell. "Mom, don't start on about that. I'm not saying Dad isn't capable and I know you are trying to straighten out Clara….Mom!"

"And I thought my mother was bad," Lorelai joked.

"No, they haven't tried to fill each other full of lead yet," Lelia said as the others listened in. "But Bobby's only been there for about twenty minutes and to be honest John would deserve it if he did."

The younger man stuck his out the door. "Hey Leila, where are those towels."

"Be right with you," she said before continuing her conversation on the cell.

"Mom, I got to go. I'll call as soon as he's sobered up." The girl said before her face fell. "Mom, I got company…okay, I swear. I am not saying that. Okay I swear, he won't step foot in a bar, cathouse and there will be no lap dances. Mom, he knows how to respect the six foot rule!... Mom, the hooker thing well… Dean says it wasn't really a hooker thing and it was when he was 15. It wasn't his fault and John did kick both their asses for that one…Yeah, I'll call. Bye Mom."

The girl clicked off the phone, before letting out a large breath. "Ahhh. Parents."

Luke took the phone from her.

"So, you're Dean's sister?" Jess said causing the girl to smirk.

"Only in Arkansas."

"Excuse me," Rory asked.

"Private joke," Leila replied.

"Private joke and what was that about hookers?" Luke asked.

The girl ran a tired hand through her hair. "Long story, long time ago. But see your boy is fine. He's being taken care of."

"You can't be happy leaving your brother in there with those three guys."

"Why not?" Leila asked.

"Yeah, like they look like people I'd trust," Jess said.

The girl grinned. "I trust them with my life actually, not my credit card, but my life."

"So you saying that your boyfriend and those other two will really take care of that boy?" Luke asked. "They grabbed him off the street."

Lelia scratched her head. "Let's not go into that one. And trust me, that guy in there is not my boyfriend but as for Sam and Dean's relationship… what can you expect really considering how young Sammy was when John lost his wife."

Jess stilled, "Don't give your pal any right to mouth off."

"So he questioned which side you play for?" Lelia said. "Bruise your ego did it?"

Jess glared. "Yeah right."

"Hey it isn't me who's got his panties in a bunch over that one," Leila said. "But seeing how you guys barged into our motel room and essentially called us a bunch of perverts, I'll let him off with it. Though, if it was any other circumstance and had a few 'Laker Girls' involved instead of what you insinuated, he'd probably take that the pervert idea as a compliment."

"Excuse me?" Lorelai asked.

"I know it's whacked," Leila said "He needs help in so many ways, but I'm pretty sure the last social worker who said he did or mentioned the co-dependency thing to Uncle John hasn't been able to return to work full time yet."

"Your Uncle?" Lorelai asked. "Why didn't you say?"

"You barged into our motel room," Lelia replied. "Not the other way around. You were the ones that didn't ask who we were."

"Dean never said he had Uncles," Rory said to which Lelia took a breath.

"Does it matter that he didn't?" Lelia asked. "But Dean Forester isn't your concern anymore is he? He's with his family and so you can go be with the new guy."

"They grabbed him off the street and got him drunk," Luke said. "That isn't exactly responsible behavior."

The girl ran a hand over her face. "If only that was it, but what can you do?"

"What is that supposed to mean."

"Doesn't matter," the girl said. "If you are really worried, I'll get Sammy to give you a call when he finally gets past the hangover from Dean's tequila cure all."

"You please make sure he does….wait, when Sammy gets past the hangover?"

"Right, pretty, book smart, but completely clueless, sounds about right," Lelia said before sighing and turning to Rory. "I hope your new guy has better luck at getting you to notice things."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rory asked.

Lelia said something under her breath and shook her head before scrubbing her hands through her hair. "Seriously, Rory? Look, I know this is hard and I'm not saying this to be mean – but this won't be the last time you'll get screwed over by a guy. Granted as ways to get screwed over, it is one for the record books and you got your own back, so we are all cool okay? You guys can go home, conscious clear, no harm, no foul."

"What?" Lorelai asked.

"Dean screwed me over?" Rory asked.

Leila looked at her sympathetically, "Sweetheart, I'm sorry. He does care about you, he really does and I know you can tell me that I know nothing because really I don't have a lot of experience with the opposite sex so to speak, but all the phone calls? Like he needs to know where you are, all the time. The fact why he holds down a job that has him working how many nights a week and weekends too sometimes when his parents could give him an allowance. Does the chores that your mother asks him to. Not to mention that he has the almost obsessive need to be on every single sports program he can get on to and he never seemed to mind that his 'girlfriend' disappeared on a Friday night, even if it was to have a meal with your grandparents?"

"What are you saying?" Lorelai asked.

"Okay, so no-one ever wondered about all the over compensating he was doing?" Lelia asked.

"Are you saying that Dean?"

"Sam. Not Dean, Sam," Lelia asked. "Look, Rory how long have the two of you been going out? Since you were 16? Over two years?"

Rory nodded to which Lelia gave her a genuine warm smile.

"And he really hasn't tried to get into your pants?"

Rory blushed.

"Hey, you are out of line," Lorelai said firmly to which the girl laughed.

"Please they're teenagers," Leila said before turning to Rory. "Call me stupid but if my girlfriend did that I would want to know why. Because showing respect or not, a normal teenage boy occasionally wants a little more than copping a feel over the sweater if you get my meaning. But hey, if none of that struck you as strange why should the fact he occasionally might not answer to his name, faze you?"

Rory looked blank for a second as Lelia smirked. "Hey, if it is any conciliation, he did 'like' you. Really he did, because my Mom has been complaining about the fact their house is the only one on the block that runs out of cold water and it wasn't because he's into the other type of 'sports' magazines if you get my meaning."

Rory looked up at her mother before turning to the girl.

"It's okay girl, don't take it that hard. There is a lot of crap going on that has nothing to do with you," Lelia said before turning to Jess. "He's cute. Not my type, but cute in an inoffensive sort of way. Guessing Mom here isn't happy but he's one step short of real bad boy and trust me, we all go through that phase, even me and boy was that a ride. But as long as you don't end up in a closet with one then I'm guessing that is okay."

"Look lady I don't get what the hell is going on."

"That's nice for you," Lelia said replying to Jess. "But I got to go and get some towels. As well as keeping a promise to my mom."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, well she's right Dean could find a cathouse in the dark and down wind," Leila said quietly.

"Dean could do that?"

"Not your Dean, the other Dean, the one who thinks he'd be doing his little brother a favor," Lelia said. "Though got to figure how to do it while not dropping the kid in it because, well, he took care of what he was supposed to almost as soon as he got into town."

"Take care of what?" Rory asked.

Lelia turned to Luke, "She can't be that sheltered? You do know about the blonde? The girl he went out with before he picked her? Not that was really serious from what I heard."

"Picked me?" Rory asked as Lelia turned to go to the manager's office.

"Hey, I got to ask you. Clara didn't tell me on the phone. Did he get any of the college applications off? I know he's been crazy busy at the moment but any of them – I know he was setting his heart on Harvard but tell me that he finished the Stanford one? The scholarship package was best there." Lelia asked causing them all to look at Rory.

"She didn't say."

"Okay, I hope he did and they look past the moving around and let that SAT score speak for itself," Lelia said with a smile. "Oh yeah, when you get back to Stars Hollow, if you see... oh, what's that girl's name – Shane, I think? Tell her that Sammy says he wishes her all the best and he's sorry he didn't said goodbye."

"Shane?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, the blonde girl, met her once, really nice girl, but Sammy was right no way in hell would they have believed that he was having trouble talking her round, her being a little more 'earthy' than Rory here. If I remember right she is quite smart, all she needs is a little confidence. But last I heard she's had some dick of a boyfriend that parades her about like a slut on a stick to piss off some other girl. Really pissed Sammy off that did, not that he could really do anything about it."

"Right," Lorelai replied looking at Lelia for a moment.

"Good and I'll make sure Clara doesn't cause you any problems," Lelia said as she opened the door.

-o-

"What?" came the bang on the door, to which they came face to face with a tired face of Shane's mother, her face hardening when she came face to face with Jess and Luke. "What the hell do you want?"

"Can we talk to Shane, please?"

"Even if it was three o'clock in the morning, who says that I would be stupid enough to let you talk to her after what you did? Using her like that until Rory here became available?" she asked the boy in front of her. "And infront of the whole town too."

"Mom? What is it?" Shane asked as she came down the stairs before catching a look at the people in the doorway. "Oh it's you guys. What conscious get the better of you guys? Couldn't sleep so you thought you'd come over here to apologise? Well, no skin off my nose – go tell Dean, he's the one you really hurt."

"I tried, but …." Rory started to say. "But his family came for him."

"You heard my daughter, go now," Shane's Mom said as she started to shut the door.

"Mom, give me a minute please. I'll be okay," Shane said, shooing her mother from the door. After a second making sure her mother was in the living room. "They came for him? Is he all right? He didn't want that!"

"What is going on?" Jess asked.

Luke narrowed his brow, "You went out with Dean."

Shane nodded, "Kind of, it was years ago though. Before him and Rory."

"Seriously?" Lorelai asked before the younger girl nodded.

"Actually, he was the one guy who never treated me like I was good for only one thing," Shane explained. "He was always honest with me about what it was about, not like some. He never pretended that he was after anything less than a bit of fun but he was still nice to me afterwards and he didn't spread it around school about what happened between us and yeah, I admit it, the fact he was hiding out, it kinda got my motor going."

"Are you saying you and Dean?" Lorelai asked.

"Hey, the whole town thinks I'm just good for one thing so why not," Shane said glaring at Jess and his Uncle.

"Shane," Luke said.

"I know what you think of me and my 'petri dish'. So lets not pretend any different, Mr. Danes," Shane retorted. "I'm the type of girl who just services kids like your nephew until something better came along, but that is all that I'm good for."

Luke took a breath as the girl turned to Rory. "Look, me and Dean went out a few times but that was before he started going out with you, Rory. Then this guy in a black car turned up and we split up – he started going out with you so they wouldn't hassle him. But then he did fall for you, really fall for you and he did everything he thought you'd want to keep you, because you're you, sweet and pure and had no idea about anything he could have gone through, he thought you treated him like a real person, ain't that a joke. But then you fall for Jess and the stupid thing is that the shit Jess puts out all that broody and mysterious crap is nothing compared to I think Dean was really involved in."

"You slept with him?" Jess asked.

"You got a problem with that?" Shane smiled. "Please tell me you did, Rory because if you didn't boy were you missing out. 'Cause trust me that boy is not only really in proportion, but even though he might not have had a lot of experience he knew to make sure to take care of a girl, unlike some I could mention."

"Excuse me?" Jess said.

"You heard me," Shane said closing the door in Jess' face.


	3. Chapter 3

They had been sitting in the car in the motel lot for about two hours, not too sure what to do even though they had seen the group of four drive off a while before.

"Why did we come back here?" Luke said.

"Don't you want to know?" Lorelai said passing the popcorn to her daughter.

"He lied to everyone," Jess said. "He's a bastard!"

"I don't know, is he?" Rory asked.

"He never said anything about going out with Shane or that his name was really Sam," Jess retorted. "He used you, Rory."

"I agree with Jess, even if it is true that whatever his name is was using Rory 'not' to have sex," Luke said.

"As ways for a guy to use my daughter, it could have been a lot worse, but I don't know about the rest of it so we need answers, before we can really judge anything," Lorelai said firmly. "It isn't like he was in the witness protection program because I'm pretty sure that they don't foster kids out to let them be picked up again."

"You don't know that," Luke said.

"Hey," 'Dean Forester' said looking pale and swaying slightly as he tapped on the window. "Let me in."

"Dean?" Rory said opening the door to which he sighed.

"Great, the gang is all here to see my humiliation," he mumbled as he got in the car.

"Are you okay, they didn't do anything to you?" Lorelai asked.

"Not in the way you're talking about," 'Dean' said. "Though glad to see you didn't mouth off too much to my Dad, Lorelai."

"Your Dad?" they all asked.

"The guy who wanted to stab Luke in the face, not the one who I was told threw Lorelai out the room," he said as he handed over a piece of paper to Luke.

"Need to get there as soon as," he said before he started to fumble in his bag.

"You need to get home, back to the Forester's" Luke said before 'Dean' sighed.

"Not my home, never was as I was reminded of tonight," the tall kid said sadly, before he straightened to look Luke in the eye. "So can you take me to there or not as I would really like to get this over with."

"What over with?" Rory asked. "They said you were called Sam."

"Great, Lelia and her big mouth. Okay, I'm Sam, actually the other guy in the room is Dean; he's my big brother if you want to know. It was his idea of a joke you see. I got to go live in Stars Hollow, but all the ids had his first name so I wouldn't forget him. Bit, thinking on it my time there was the closest that a Dean in my family ever got to a normal life too, okay. And yeah the symbolism isn't great, but I have a hangover, so sue me," Sam said turning to Luke. "You going to drive or not because I really need to get there and if you don't turn on the engine I will find another way."

"What you going to do steal a car?" Jess snorted.

"Don't let the hangover fool you," Sam narrowing his glare at the other teenage boy in the back seat. "But I'd rather not, if I don't have to."

"Why?" Rory asked.

"You know if you want to get away for a few days, we can take you somewhere." Lorelai offered. "If you aren't comfortable going back to Stars Hollow or with those people, even if they are your family."

Sam pulled a gas canister out of his bag pulling an adapter off of it before turning to Luke, "Can you go to that address and do it now."

"What are you doing?" Jess asked

"Trying to fix this and even if my head wasn't spinning I can't do that and get where I need to be at the same time but I will try it if I have to," Sam said as he attempted to fit a nozzle. "So are you going to drive or do I have to try to find an alternative way to get there?"

"Dean…ehm Sam, is that a Flame thrower?" Lorelai asked as Luke turned round to look at the thing in the kid's hands.

Sam put the canister down in his lap. "I'm guessing you want answers? Okay, I'll give them to you if you drive."

As they drew up to the rickety old warehouse Rory sat there looking hurt and confused.

"So you used me?" Rory asked.

"No, I didn't… well I didn't mean to," he said. "I do or did love you. I didn't want you to get hurt, okay."

"Hurt, tell me how you lying to me for more than 2 years isn't hurting me? Did you go home at night and laugh at me? Did you and Shane sit at school, giggling about how your two were pulling the wool over my eyes?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

"Oh shit, you know about Shane?" Sam asked his eyes wide. "Does my Dad know?"

"What?"

"Does my Dad know I went out with Shane?" Sam asked quickly before taking a deep breath stealing himself. "Sorry that is your problem."

"Sam, why would that be a problem?" Rory asked as Jess turned to Sam who sat there in silence.

"You going to answer her question," Jess asked.

"No, I didn't sit and laugh at you guys, but I so want to pop you one so many times the way you treated her, treated Rory" Sam stated as he cleaned a washer with a cloth he had brought. "I might have been an ass for the way I used Rory and I know it, but at least I respected both of them."

"Really, you lied to them about who you were," Jess point out.

"Like you can talk. So you got to use your real name big deal! Like that makes you so much better and as for me and Shane, it was before I went out with Rory so really it is none of your business unlike when you went out with her because you just used Shane for fun and to annoy Rory at least I can pretend to have some real reasons behind what I did, what about you? What about you and Shane? If I hadn't blew up at the marathon would you and Rory have gotten together? I doubt Rory would have had the backbone to end it with me and yeah I'll admit I was hanging on for more reasons than just caring about her. But does that mean that you would still be using Shane, Jess?"

"Yeah sit there mister high and mighty, using Rory like you did" Jess said mockingly as Rory blushed. "And what is with the bull with Harvard? With your grades?"

"Dean Forester is failing math, which believe it or not is harder than it looks. Sam Winchester even though he never got to stay at a school for more than a couple of months, got his GED a while back and a not bad SAT score when he sat them in New London," Sam said firmly before he reached into his is bag.

"And with all that you are packing a flame thrower," Jess said as the rest of them stared at Sam.

Sam took a breath. "I just wanted to be normal okay and then when all the crap started with you two and I thought I could hang on long enough to get my Dad to agree about me going to school; get him to think that it was to stay close to Rory if I had to, even though I knew it was over since she ran off to New York to see if you were okay, but I couldn't. But, I never meant to hurt anyone one, because even though it sounds fucked up I did love Rory. Suppose I always will and yeah, I went with Shane before her, but that was a long time ago. I did what I had to and I don't expect you to understand it, but Shane was nice and kind and fun and kind of understood that I couldn't give her details about why we split and that is what mattered, but I can't go into that right now as I have to do this. I'll be back, but stay in the car. I'll try and explain everything later but only if you stay in the car."

"Who's promising Sam or Dean?" Luke asked causing the boy to hesitate for a moment before opening the car door to go.

"If you think we are letting you out of this car before we get some real answers then you are sorely mistaken m'laddo." Lorelai said following him out.

"M'Laddo?" Sammy said raising an eyebrow before he pulled her into a tight hug. "You know you are the closest thing to a normal mom I've had since I was 6 months old."

"What?" Lorelai asked confused by the statement.

"I'm going to miss you." Sam said with a sad smile.

"Dean?" Lorelai said as the boy started to run towards the building.

"Just stay by the car, no matter what you hear. Please just stay by the car," He yelled as he ran over to the building.

"We aren't just going to sit here," Luke said as he made a move to get out of the car to join Lorelai.

"He isn't going to tell us anything if we go in after him," Lorelai said holding Luke back.

"We don't know if he's going to come back," Jess said after five minutes of silence just as they caught the glow of fire through the grime covered windows.

"What the hell?" Luke asked

Jess shrugged. "Professional firebugs?"

The main door burst open as an animal covered in rags came running out followed by the two older men who unceremoniously proceeded to put two slugs in the thing's back.

"Are we clear?" a voice could be heard to ask from inside as the small group from Stars Hollow watched.

"We're clear," the man in the cap, Bobby, yelled as the other man, John, threw his coat over the body. The girl they had met earlier that night came out holding the hand of a small child while carrying a toddler.

She saw the small group standing by their car, and proceeded to walk over to them handing the little boy in her arms to Lorelai, before turning round to the little girl in the night dress, "See, like I promised; they won't hurt you."

"They hurt my Daddy. They took him away," the girl started to cry as one of the older men walked over and put a strong hand on her shoulder to which the little girl looked up at him.

"Where are the boys?" Bobby asked.

"They'll be fine." John clenched his jaw looked round at the building before pulling out a gun in reaction to the loud crashing noise that accompanied three figures coming flying out of one of the upper windows.

"What the…." Lorelai asked as the first floor exploded.

"Great, lets tell everyone where we are," John muttered as he started to run.

"You okay?" John yelled as two of the three had started getting to their feet after bursting into laughter.

"Don't tell me that you didn't miss this shit!" the younger man said to Sam.

Sam grinned. "The everyday flying by the seat of my pants – oh yeah Dean l so missed that."

"How is he?" John interjected as he dusted some of the dirt off Sam before nodding to the man who was still down.

"His arm is screwed, Dad." The younger man called Dean said as the barely conscious man groaned.

"They were chowing on him when we got there, sir" Sam said to which the older men and the girl looked at him.

"Chowing down?" Bobby asked bending down to pull the man's shirt sleeve up to look at the wounds. "You sure of that was all they were doing?"

"They were chomping down hard, I can't say for sure but it's possible," Dean said.

"Possible," John asked the young man who seemed to be called Dean.

"I…" Dean started to say before John turned to Sam.

"He didn't see what happened did he? So?" John said coldly causing Sam to recoil.

"I ….Dean? Please don't make me," Sam begged.

"You think he's infected kid?" Bobby asked.

"Please Bobby, don't make me make this call," Sam begged.

The larger man John turned to the confused Lorelai who could do nothing but watch on. He nodded to the toddler and the small child, "Get the kids out of here."

"What are you going to do?" Luke asked as Lelia got in his way.

"We have to be sure," she said turning to Jess. "You get the car ready. Now!"

Jess took a breath, hesitating for a moment. Luke nodded to the kid causing him to run over to the car as Lorelai and Rory started to follow with the children.

"Dad, you don't have to," Lorelai could her Sam say. The kid standing in between John and the man they had just pulled out of the building.

"Sam, get out of the way," Bobby said pulling at Sam's arm though the teenager stood firm.

"We can get him to a hospital. You can't do it here," Sam argued.

"Sammy, you know they won't be able to help if he turns, there is no time," Dean argued.

"Those kids need their Dad, kid. Better one in pieces than none at all," Bobby said pulling the teen out of the way as John pulled out a large knife.

"What the hell?" Luke yelled causing Lelia to bar his path.

"You don't want to get in our way," Lelia said firmly.

"Hold him," John said to Dean before turning to Sam, "Hold his feet. Got no time to make it easy for him."

Lorelai couldn't really see what was happening apart from the girl holding Luke back as the men and Sam crouched around the man who had come out of the building. Luke was yelling although no-one was answering but he fell silent as the piercing cry which lasted for what seemed an eternity cut through the air.

"Move!" Luke yelled at Lorelai and Rory as the three men quickly picked up the body and ran towards the car and laiying the unconcious figure on the back seat. After they closed the door Lorelai turned to say something only to see Sam turn his back on the group and proceeded to wretch the contents of his stomach in the dim glow of the burning building.

"You know we had to do it," Dean said rubbing the back of his younger brother as he guided him away from the others.

"He didn't have to try and make me make the call," Sam replied quietly hunched over and through teary eyes as everyone watched the interaction between the two brothers. He was about to say something as another raggedy animal came running out of flames from the burning building to which John pulled out a gun and stopped it cold.

"He'll be fine if you keep the tourniquet on it. You get them to a hospital but you better move," John said to Luke and Lelia. "We'll clean up. Boys, me an Bobby will take above, you two below."

"Oh man, I hate sewers," Dean said lightly walking over to the mancover. "Sammy, ladies first. Especially as you ain't done it in a while."

"Geez, Great back crawling through shit and piss again, Dean," a wretching teary eyed Sam said before turning to Luke. "I'm so sorry."

"Hey get your ass over here they need to head now and sewers aren't that bad," Dean said with a smirk. "Can't be worse than that room in Tulsa we shared about what you were 12."

"Please, you traumatised me enough back then and you made me sleep on the couch," Sammy said slowly heading to the sewer main.

"Wait," Lelia said. "Me and Dean will take the sewer. Sammy can go with them, okay."

John thought for a second before nodding, "Sammy go with them. Don't move till we get there."

Sam swallowed. "Yes sir."

As the boy got in the car headed back to the car John yelled, causing Sam to turn. "And boy you finish it if you need to."

"Dad!" Sammy said his eyes wide.

"Dad, I'll go," Dean said straightening.

"No dude,I'll go, I understand," Sam said heading towards the car.

* * *

><p>"He cut off his arm," Rory said quietly as she watched Sam craddle the man's head as they drove along the road. "That man, your Dad, he cut off someone's arm."<p>

"Yeah he did," Sam said making sure he could see that the pale man was barely holding onto consciousness in front of him. "They bit him, he could be infected, he could turn into something like the thing that took him."

"So, you cut off his arm?" Jess asked.

"Best chance for him," Sam said looking over at the two kids cowering into Lorelai at the front of the car.

Jess looked at Sam, noting the fact that one of his hands was stuck in that duffel, the duffel that contained god knows what. "You…"

Sam looked down, "I got my orders."

"Orders?" Luke said.

Sam sniffed, suddenly looking younger than his 18 years. "I just wanted out. I wanted to play softball, hockey, hang on the corner with my friends, go to school. Have a girlfriend, stay in one place for more than five minutes" he said, his voice breaking, "I don't want to be like my Dad, I don't be stuck in this life like my brother is. I just wanted to make it to college."

"Kid, if you are saying that you've been told to do what I think you've been told to do, you don't have to," Luke said calmly.

Sam flashed Luke a warm grateful smile before his face fell and he shook his head. "Dean Forester no, but he never really existed. Sam Winchester has to if this goes south because that is what we do."

"There are always choices," Rory said looking straight in the eye.

"No there isn't sometimes, sometimes family doesn't give you a choice," Sam said mournfully. "So we do what we do and we just have to shut up about it."

"You don't mean that," Jess replied. "Seriously, you don't."

"No." Sam replied. "I can't."

"Yes, you can you had a plan kid, stick around Stars Hollow till you go to college," Lorelai said. "You haven't done anything wrong yet, it wasn't you that cut off this guy's arm so you can stick to your plan."

"Yes, you can do that," Rory said.

"No, because even if I hadn't blown up at the marathon and we were still playing that stupid dance, I still would have been here doing this cause someone has to," he said solemnly as they pulled up to the ER.

* * *

><p>"So, are you going to explain a little more now?" Luke said as they settled the kids with the cops and the Dad with the doctors.<p>

"Yeah, that would be a good idea," Lorelai said pulling Rory a little bit further away from Sam. "Considering the story you got the cops to swallow."

"Yeah, your his dead wife's nephew and were being dropped off at the house for a quick visit?" Jess said. "Jesus you should work in television getting them to swallow that one. What else can you do?"

"This is why I never told anyone about any of this," Sam said. "Best not to get civilians involved."

"What, you expected this?" Jess asked getting in Sam's face. "You expected stuff like this to happen? You're use to it - fuck man what are you?"

"Look Jess, you might have been able to hold your own against 'Dean Forester' but you got to be a real moron to think Sam Winchester is going to just bend over for your crap. Especially right now," he said pushing Jess back before turning to leave only to be grabbed by Luke.

"Take your hand off me, Luke because you are not putting me in a headlock again," Sam said his voice low and dangerous to which Luke obliged.

"You said that you'd give us answers and kid, we have a lot of questions especially now."

"Okay," Sam replied. "My name is Sam Winchester and I got stuck here because my Dad decided I was stupid after I got myself caught in a trap all because….well I was a kid okay."

"A kid?" Jess said mockingly.

"Oh I'm sorry, can I help that I had some really out there dream that I might want my first time to be with someone I knew for more than twenty minutes?" Sam asked. "Because really it was one the few things I had some control over."

"Control over?" Jess asked.

"Please," Sam retorted. "You think you got problems, you think that some people wouldn't kill for '_my Daddy walked out on me and never came back, that Mom is a flake and can't handle me, that my Uncle is an ass but is there for me and really lets me be a kid.' _Instead of what I had, a dead Mom, a Dad who came and went and sometimes when he came back days after he said he would he would be drunk to deal with the pain and the fact he was close to bleeding out with little explanation or having your Dad and your Uncles hand you a gun at eleven to get you ready to go after things like those things tonight and what is really screwed up is that isn't that you want to scream that you don't want to, you pull that trigger on target practice because you feel guilty because you then get that your brother has been aware of all that shit since he was a lot younger and keeping it from you because that is what he thought big brothers did? Please tell me how about how i should cut you slack because your life is screwed up because from where I sit your life is damn well paradise and now you got a girl like Rory too."

Jess took a step back.

Sam took a breath as the group looked at him, "I'm sorry, I'm out of line, I know."

"Hey kid, it's okay," Luke said trying to calm the boy down.

After a few moments of tense silence, Lorelai sighed. "But...Sam, if your Dad is likeas you say, how did you end up with us?"

"Because he because he decided that if I was going to insist in doing things the 'hard' way then I should find normality is only a different level of screwed up than I was use to you. I never meant to hurt anyone, yes I did go out with Shane when I first got into town and yes we did sleep together. That was all over before I started going out with Rory and I never lied about how I felt about her, it's just when they saw me with her they thought I was just doing the puppy love thing, taking my time because Rory is Rory. Do you understand? Thanks to Rory I got to be as close to normal as I ever had. I just wanted to hang onto it."

"So where does the Foresters come in," Lorelai asked

"They're friends of the family. Randy had done something to his back and Clara was acting up so they wanted to settle in one place, but when Lelia told them she wasn't moving here with them that she was sticking on the road. They had a spare room. Dean thought I'd appreciate being normal more if I was part of a 'real' family, even if mom and dad are closer to military survival freaks than Timothy McVey."

"Randy and May is…"

"No they hunted; they hunted things like the ones that were at the warehouse. They don't anymore but that doesn't mean they let things slide so when Rory went to her Friday night diner I did clean up. Seemed only fair, helped towards rent."

"You paid rent," Rory asked.

"Yeah?" Sam replied. "Look, you guys should get out of here. But thanks for everything."

"We aren't leaving without you," Lorelai said. "You may not be who I thought you were but somewhere inside you is a good kid."

"Lorelai, you got to go. I got to make sure this guy…well, I got make sure I don't have to…Goodbye," Sam said giving her a hug before turning to walk down the corridor.

"You think that we are going to let you go?" Jess asked spinning Sam around causing Sam to grab and twist his arm.

"Look Jess, me I got to be here and considering how bad you are at covering your tracks with the gnome and the outline shit, get out of here in case the worse happens."

"Worse happens?" Rory said quietly. "Don't go, please."

"Go home and …forget you ever met me," Sam said letting go of Jess' arm and proceeding to walk down the hall.


	4. Chapter 4

**Yeah short chapter for me!**

* * *

><p>The bleeping of the machines were a lot quieter than the ones she had seen on the TV, those serials with the Doctors who can make life or death decisions while the rest of their world fell apart.<p>

The man was pale, excessively pale, he had an IV attached to his…well not the stump that had been dressed.

"Hello?" a nurse asked as she stood in the doorway. "Can I help you?"

"I…"

"Are you family, kid?" the nurse asked to which Rory shook her head.

"I was there when they…they found him."

"Oh you are with his nephew?" the woman asked sympathetically. "He said that he was with some friends and their family, but he thought you guys would have left after the kids were collected by the neighbors."

"I…" Rory started to say before the words began to choke her. The nurse nodded at the girl.

"It's okay, walking in on an accident like that, well it gets to you," she said. "I'm sure your friend will be back in a minute or two. But you should tell him there isn't anything he can do; he should go and see his cousins are okay, I'm sure his Uncle would be happier to know those little ones were being looked after."

Rory nodded as the nurse walked away, turning to look at the forlorn figure in the bed.

"I told you to go home," came a voice behind her causing her to jump.

"Does Lorelai or Luke know you are here?"

She shook her head. "I told them I was going to the bathroom. Which I did and then after I threw up I thought."

"You'd come to save me?" he asked with a wry smile before his face fell nodding in the direction of the bed. "Or to save him?"

"I…" she didn't know how to exactly phrase what she was doing.

"It's okay, it looks like he won't turn," Sam said taking a sip of the coffee sludge that he must have found in one of the machines that lined the halls.

"How do you know?" she asked taking a step back. "Because you have experience in this, don't you?"

He took a deep breath. "Not in the way you think. Actually I have never…not when…I know what has to be done sometimes and I've taken out things that weren't like this guy or didn't start out like this guy, but it is never me that has had to do it before."

"Your family k…"

He looked at the ground for a moment. "Not in the way you think. Not for the reasons you think."

She didn't know what to say before he looked at the guy in the bed.

"As for this guy, looked at his chart, looks normal to me, not any signs of metabolic change."

She raised an eyebrow, causing him to give a shy smile as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"I'm no Doogie Hoowser, but I kind of read a bit more than I let on."

"Really?"

"It was kind of handy when I was on the road, just the basics though, enough to know when you should stay in a hospital and when a quart and some dental floss will do as long as everything your using is clean."

She cocked her head to the side. "Should stay in a hospital? Or dental floss?"

He looked away from her. "Look Rory, I'm guessing that your Mom and Jess are going to be worried about you. You should get back, best you just hate me."

"Dean," she said sympathetically reaching out a hand which he refused to take.

"I'm Sam, not Dean," he said clearly. "You don't know me and it is best for you that you don't."

"Was any of what we had real?" she asked.

"I…I don't know," Sam admitted. "My life is complicated and well…Rory, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I couldn't or wouldn't tell you the truth, that I couldn't be what you wanted because really I thought that you wanted…well a normal guy not someone who was like Jess because really?"

She tightened her brow, "What is wrong with Jess? At least he is honest with me."

Sam laughed. "After tonight you now want to go into what I think of Jess? Seriously that is what you want to ask me about?"

"It is easier than trying to deal with you knowing how to read medical charts, can talk about symbolism and are trying to get into Harvard, why didn't you tell me about any of that?"

He gestured to the man in the bed. "Because all of that is tied up with this. Do you want to know about that? Really? And it wasn't like I wasn't dropping hints that something was up with me wasn't it?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Rory, when we first met we talked about films and books and stuff that we stopped talking about when we got back together after that first break up. I started talking about Battlebots and sports and you didn't seem to notice I had a personality change. You didn't really ask why my folks weren't interested in me going to a four year college, that I never really stood up for myself against your grandpa when he went on about what I wanted to do and how your mom went on about how you were special, like I wasn't good enough to be in that room because I wasn't shouting any plans I had from the roof. You never asked where my bike went, which got totaled when me and Randy were dealing with…something and why, even though I was obviously pissed that I never broke up with you when other guys were interested."

"I…it isn't like I was interested in Tristan."

"No, but you dragged Jess out for so long you never asked why I was putting up with it when I was so…jealous."

"I just thought that you cared. That you…I never."

"Rory, I love you, I do or as much as a teenager knows about love but I'm not stupid and I hope you actually start noticing things that are wrong when Jess keeps them from you," he replied causing her face to fall causing him to regret his words. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that."

She sniffed. "No you are right, I should have noticed things.

"I stuck around not only because I knew you didn't notice things," Sam said before he blushed for a second. "Maybe Dean is right."

"What is he right about?"

"That I got mother issues."

"Excuse me, you like my mom?"

He quickly shook his head. "No, not like. I never really had a mom or as Lelia put the closest thing I had to one was well is four years older than me, likes boobs and avoids chick flick moments. But my Dad…my brother…well I got this thing where Dean says that I'm more like our Dad - I put women on this pedestal and he thinks it is because I heard all the stories how great my mom was so has screwed up how I see women, why I put up with crap that I did with you and Jess, because when he heard about the car he was all for hunting Jess down and kicking the crap out of him, but I think it is better than his one night if you are lucky thing that he does."

"How Freudian of you."

"Actually if you take everything as whole I think my life is better explained through the use of Jungian symbolism," he said with a wry smile. "What can I say my life is fucked up."

She seemed taken aback.

"Go back to your family, Rory," he said sympathetically.

"What about you?"

"Rory, …just go will you."

"I…"

"Rory, my family end 'things'…I end things, if that guy had turned I would have killed him," he replied his face hardening.

"You said that you done anything like that yet."

"Go away Rory. Get away from me, I'm dangerous, I'm bad news to be around."

"But?"

"Rory go!" he said pushing her out of the room before closing the door in her face.

* * *

><p>"Mom!" she said as she came crying down the corridor.<p>

Lorelai gathered her daughter up in her arms. "Rory, where have you been?"

"Mom, he said… he said.."

"Hey he said what?" Luke asked as Rory gulped for air.

She looked up at her mother. "Mom, he hasn't yet he said he hasn't yet, but they do."

"Do what?" Jess asked.

"The man, he said he is going to be okay, so he won't have to but if he stays with them they'll eventually…he'll have to some day, Mom. They'll make him…if they do stuff like we saw, they'll make him, someday really, and that isn't him, he says it is, but he doesn't want to be like that."

"It's okay Rory it is okay," Lorelai said as she held Rory close.

Luke sighed. "Wait here."

"Luke?" Jess asked.

"Wait here and…just wait here."

"Luke what are you going to do?"

"Something stupid."

"Luke, are you insane?" Lorelai cried after him.

"Yeah, I might be."

* * *

><p>The bleeping was kind of soothing in a way, stupid noise. Calm, steady, rhythmic and because actually for once it wasn't Dean or Dad or anyone else he felt were family lying in the bed made it actually in a sick way… relaxing. Though that realization actually made the stupid hospital chair feel more uncomfortable than it actually was; causing him to shift a little before the room door flew open.<p>

"There he is."

"What the hell?" Sam asked as Luke stood in the doorway with two security guards. "Luke?"

"Uncle Luke," Luke said firmly before coming in and grabbing Sam by the scruff of his collar.

"Don't you touch me," Sam said pushing Luke back with such force that he hit the wall.

"Son," the first security guard said calmly to the boy as Sam stood there in a fighting stance while he noted the other guard had unclipped something on his belt.

"What's that," Sam asked the guy.

"You don't want me to use it kid." The big guy said. "This is a hospital and whatever beef you got with your uncle here, this isn't the place for you to have it out."

"I meant is it really mace or just cheap pepper spray, dude."

"Why you asking?" the guard asked confused to which Sam rolled his eyes in response.

"Do you really want to do this in a hospital?" Luke asked as he gathered himself. "I know you have had a tough night what with the cops but really you want to go another round."

"Luke just…."

"I am not leaving a minor in a hospital alone."

"I'm not a minor."

"Right, you got any real id on you right now to back that up, Sam?" Luke said with a laugh causing Sam to prickle.

"So come on you can stay with me tonight and then we can see how the kids are doing in the morning," Luke said.

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Well, it is me or me having it out with your 'Uncle John' when he turns up about who takes you, in a crowded hospital with security guards and cops," Luke said. "Because I will."

"You are an idiot if you do."

"I know, but doesn't mean that I won't," Luke said before gesturing to the bed. "Rory says that there is nothing you need to do here. If that is the case best you come with me, right."

"You don't want this 'Uncle' Luke," Sam replied.

"I agree, but looks like that I'm the best you got tonight kid, so even though you don't want to stay with me and honestly I don't want you either you are, I'm the best hope you got right now," Luke said firmly as the security guards watched on.

Sam thought for a second, before relaxing. "You are going to regret this."

"We have one of those relationships," Luke said to the security guard who relaxed.

"Sir, it might be best if we call the duty social worker," the guard offered.

"We're a screwed up family, you should see me and his Dad. But, as you can see the kid is more than capable of handling himself so you don't have to worry about him," Luke said to the guard.

"Yeah, we're screwed up, he's the dick we don't invite over for the holidays," Sam replied causing Luke's face to harden.

"Move," he said causing Sam to smirk as he started out the room.

"You know that I am just going to run," Sam said as they got down the corridor and were away from the guards.

"No you are not, at least not here," Luke said. "Because if you do…oh kid I don't know."

"Luke, you don't want to be involved more than you are."

"And neither kid do you." He said. "You said as much, neither do you."

"My family, our business." Sam said.

"Christ," Luke exclaimed as he saw Lorelai at the bottom of the hallway. "Kid, just do it for them okay."

"Luke, they are going to come for me or I have to go with them," Sam said. "And I do appreciate your intention but there isn't anything you can do to stop my Dad kicking your ass if he doesn't find me here."

"How do you think he'd feel if I told him and your brother when they show up that you ain't a virgin and haven't been for a long long time?" Luke said causing Sam to stop dead.

"You wouldn't," Sam said.

"Try me, kid."

Sam muttered something under his breath.

Luke raised an eyebrow. "You kiss your mother with that mouth."

"My real mom, she burnt up in a fire taking what was a normal home life with her when I was six months old so you tell me, Luke," Sam retorted causing Luke to recoil a little. "As for May, you think Lorelai can talk, get May in the right mood and she could teach the seventh fleet some new vocabulary."

Luke hesitated a little, "What, really."

"Yeah really," Sam said with a nod as Lorelai nodded to them.

"Okay you have with no…okay you have him," Lorelai said before gesturing to the exit. "I got us transport."

"My truck is outside."

She looked at Sam for a second. "Yes, but we saw him blow up a building tonight."

"That wasn't supposed to happen," Sam admitted.

"Then there is no harm I suppose. But, I thought that we might, if you were coming with us that we might need something a little better than a truck. So I called…well we have limo service." She said pointing the large car parked across the street.

"Rory and Jess are already in it."

"You got us a limo?" Sam asked.

"I don't know what you can do I am not having you grab a wheel or anything, " Lorelai admitted.

"Hence the car with dividing screen?" Sam asked. "Lorelai, I'm not stupid.

She turned to Luke. "Knowing people who have a top of the line limo account can come in handy when you need to travel in real style."

"How much did you have to explain to your mom?" Luke asked.

"You don't want to know, in fact I think it is best we head there."

"You can't be serious," Luke exclaimed.

"You know anywhere we can go to on short notice with real 24 hour security with a response time of less than 3 minutes? Do you want to risk that guy in Stars Hollow?" Lorelai said to Luke.

Sam sighed. "They are my family…not the cast of monster island, my Dad, isn't Godzilla."

"Kid, right now you don't want to know what we think of your Dad," Luke replied.

Sam shrugged before starting a trudging walk to the car. "Trust me; it can't be anything worse than what I've called him and to his face too."

"How did you get him to come with you?" Lorelai asked as Sam started his resigned walk.

"By threatening to become a snitch."

"What?"

"I'm not proud of it, really I'm not," Luke said as he started to the car.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello there - me again short quickly written one, hence the Brit spelling.

Hope it is okay but if things don't make sense or confuse people let me know (characters are being a pain at mo.)

A/N - this is set after Let the Games begin for the Gilmore Girls just to tie in the Walnut and Richard's reunion thing.

* * *

><p>It was a tense car ride, Jess pulled Rory tight into him as he watched Sam who seemed more interested in staring out the window at the passing houses.<p>

"Well this is a fun drive," Lorelai said trying to break the tension.

"Yeah, fun."

"I haven't been to my parents in one of these …well I think it was on Miranda Spinkeners 10th birthday party we all got picked up in what seemed like then a huge stretched limo to go horse riding."

"You on a horse?" Rory asked her mother.

"Hey, I'll have you know I was quite the Princess Anne back then though obviously looking less like the pony," Lorelai replied. "Okay I rocked the look, unlike you who had have had that horse phobia since you were 8."

"The pony died right under me!" Rory retorted as Jess gave her a peck on the top of her head.

"Not your fault then," Jess mumbled.

"Exactly," Rory replied.

"Well that was the last time I was in one of these things, though it wasn't exactly as well."

"Armor plated with full security packet?" Sam added causing the rest of the group to look at him, although the boy hadn't stopped staring out the window.

"What?" Jess asked before smirking a little. "How do you know?"

Sam tapped the glass, "Thickened safety glass. Not your usual issue except on high end security models."

"Yeah and you know that ," Jess asked.

"And you know for sure I don't?" Sam retorted with a smirk on his face causing Jess to recoil a little.

Sam sat up facing the others, "Look, I appreciate the whole intervention. But you aren't rescuing me from some cult or hiding me from the mob."

"Sam, we just want to give you breathing room to think about things," Lorelai replied.

"Can you just stop the car? I can get a ride back to the hospital or motel and I'll be out of your hair."

"Get a ride?" Luke asked. "Even if we were going to stop this thing, you think we'd let you hitch your way out of here?"

"Yeah, you know that is stupid. You use to go on about how dangerous that was. How stupid it was when I said that Jess was talking about hitching his way across America," Rory said

"Of course I…well Dean Forester did because for Jess or you it would be," Sam said as he began to stare out the window again.

"And for you it wouldn't," Jess interjected to which Sam just shrugged and didn't say a word as the car turned up the manicured drive.

"This is seriously a really bad idea," Sam said as the car ground to a stop.

"I think we are all agreed on that," Luke said as everyone got out.

"So what is the plan now?" Jess asked.

"Well we can have a fabulous dinner, deflect lots of awkward questions and then we take it from there," Lorelai replied

"Right," Sam said as the young maid opened the door.

"Oh goody they have a new one already," Lorelai noted. "Hope she doesn't like to try and pep up the salad."

"What?" Luke asked.

"Walnuts," Rory explained.

"Walnuts?" Jess repeated.

"When it comes to her grandparents maids it is best not to ask," Sam said Luke and Lorelai entered the house. He hesitated looking around the grounds and down drive way to the large gated entrance that was slowly closing behind the limo the had dropped them off.

"De…Sam," Rory said as she put a hand on his arm to get him to turn round.

"I'll stay for a few hours," Sam said. "But that is all I can do, okay."

"Okay, a few hours, but come inside" Rory said.

* * *

><p>"So can you tell me what was situation called for you to demand to use your father's limousine account?" Emily Gilmore said to her daughter as she stood in the hall.<p>

"I'll explain in a minute Mom, is Dad around?" Lorelai replied, while the maid took the coats of everyone before halting at the messed up tall kid who looked a little ashamed at the state of his smoke covered bloody hoodie.

"It's okay, I'll keep it," Sam said to the tall girl who nervously looked at her boss for a moment, who just nodded.

Emily looked at the boy for a moment before turning to her daughter. "Hmmm, your father is in his office you realise that after what happened at Yale he couldn't enjoy his reunion. He drove us all the way back from when we had reservations at a hotel which was very hard to get into."

"Okay, Mom I get it. I was lucky to get hold of you."

Emily's face softened a little "Though after your reaction to what happened at Yale I thought we wouldn't have heard from you until Friday."

"Well Mom…" Lorelai started to say before looking at the scruffed up kid skulking in the doorway.

"I get that you need assistance for some reason," Emily said. "I'm just glad we can be of help. Although we will need some sort of explanation unless you are expecting their parents."

Lorelai turned to see Emily staring at Jess and Sam. "Jess there, is Luke's nephew."

Emily nodded. "And Dean's family?"

Lorelai scratched her nose. "Well, I think that they'll be along soon, but as I said I think we will all may need to stay the night if that is okay?"

Emily nodded before assessing the group and nodding, "Okay but if you want to stay as I said your father and I will need some sort of explanation."

"Fine Mom," Lorelai said quietly as Emily gestured to the maid.

"Inga, run that boy a bath and find him some clothes. I believe that you should be able to find something in the pool house for him."

"Mrs Gilmore," the girl said in broken English.

"The donations for the orchestral benefit?" Emily said as the girl hesitated. "They were dropped off this afternoon for sorting. Find something to fit the boy then…burn what he's wearing."

"I…" Sam started to say holding his jacket a little tighter.

"You are not staying in my home looking more like a hobo than you presently are. But at least I can do something about you," Emily said before guiding her daughter to the office.

"Okay," Luke said as the maid disappeared up the stairs.

"Yeah that's my Grandma," Rory said with a smile.

* * *

><p>John was tired, really tired. He didn't need this really he didn't.<p>

"So he went with his Uncle?" Lelia was asking at the desk as Dean blocked his way further back in the waiting room.

"Dad, it's Sammy. He's able to look after himself," Dean was said trying to smooth his father's feathers to which John gave him a look that could kill at 1000 paces.

"It isn't Dean's fault, John," Bobby said firmly. "It looks like Sam walked out of here on his own two feet, that means it was his decision."

"How the hell do you know that?" John replied.

"You trained the kid, you saying you don't trust him" Bobby said, which only caused Dean to wince as his father turned his head to slowly face Bobby.

As the silent standoff in the waiting room tensed Lelia tentatively joined the three men.

"It looks like the diner owner…" she started to say.

"The diner owner, what?" Dean asked nervously.

She swallowed. "Well, it looks like Sam went with him after the guy said he was his Uncle. But Sam wasn't happy about it, security was involved."

"He walked out on his own two feet?" John said sarcastically to Bobby.

"No he did, if I had to guess it was because the guy asked Sam if he wanted to cause a scene in the hospital room. But on a good not he got five star service when he left – limo ride and I mean limo, with chauffer too."

"Limo?" Bobby asked.

"That girl he was with she…she came from money," John said. "She might live in that town with her mom but her grandparents aren't exactly collecting foodstamps."

"Nice," Bobby mumbled. "What about our guy."

"There weren't any signs of turning. Guess that is why Sammy walked out that room," Dean said. "Scene or not he wouldn't have gone with anyone if he thought there was a risk of the guy turning into Cujo. Even if he would have only had three legs."

"You know what that means?" Lelia said.

"What?"

"We got a heavily armed 18 year old."

"He's got a 9mm," Dean said.

"Okay, we have an armed 18 year old stuck with a bunch of uptight New Englanders who by the looks of it want to save him…from us," Lelia explained. "And if a limo picked him up which Rory's grandparents are paying for I'm guessing they are all in a nice little secure community up in Hartford."

"So?" Dean asked.

"Dean, it means we can't just go busting in there and demand they give back Sam and if they find that he has that gun any sweet talking he is doing isn't going to cut any ice – if her grandfolks have real old money or even just linked to old money then they are going to have more than just normal rent a cops on speed dial." John said.

Dean's shoulders fell. "Does that mean we have to play nice?"

"Yes Dean. We have to play nice," Lelia replied before turning to John. "I better call my mom to see…."

"Tell May if she is going to call that place to find out what they are going to do watch her language," Bobby said causing the girl to nod.

* * *

><p>The water was still running as he sat on the hamper, the window was there a window he could just slip out and jump the back wall. Okay it would be a mile of two before he hit the highway, but it was…doable, because really how likely was it that he wouldn't be a mile away before they noticed he was gone or at least on the grounds of another property. Yeah he could cut through a couple of the other houses, it wasn't like Rory's grandparents would call their neighbours to admit that they had lost someone that they didn't really know and who had technically embarrassed their granddaughter.<p>

Though just as the plan seemed to come together there was a knock on the door.

"Just a minute!" Sam yelled grabbing the gun he had and stuffing it behind the toilet before pulling off his hoodie and top to make it look like he had made an attempt to get cleaned up. "Ehmm, what do you want?"

"It's me asshole, I'm up here to give you…just open the door will you?" Jess yelled.

"What?" Sam snarked as he opened the door to find Jess standing with a pile of designer clothes.

"Here is your new wardrobe, Sam," Jess said thrusting the clothes into Sam's hands before turning to go.

"Thanks," Sam mumbled causing Jess to turn round.

"You know I thought I got you, I did but this really?" Jess asked.

"What?"

"The fake name, the hiding the being part of…whatever. And where the hell do you get off tell me that my life compared to your is perfect. You don't know anything about my life."

"Really?" Sam asked. "Seems to me that you've been trying to do an updated bad James Dean impression since you got to town and you haven't exactly been quiet about doing it."

"Says the guy who seems to be…the Unibomber.

"I've lived in cabins and actually they weren't too bad," Sam retorted. "And your act really? Seen it done much better and by dudes who learned the hard way to be tougher than you'll ever be."

"You think you can hold your own now?"

Sam smirked. "No Rory to hold on to. No cover to blow. I can be me now, Jess. Which, means I don't have to take your shit lying down anymore, even though I don't need to do anything but open my mouth."

"So you what, you not going to go all Chicago wiseguy on my ass?"

Sam shook his head. "Only ever passed through Illinois. The Foresters' though really are from there, actually, I was born in Kansas."

"So you really are a farm boy?" Jess said laughing.

"Think what you want Mr. New York." Sam replied. "But before you think that means that I was born with some backward idea of things let me say this you are wrong."

"Sure and with the whole secret identity, you couldn't be trying harder to be a wannabe Clark Kent."

Sam nodded. "Touche, but if we are going to go into comic land can I just ask what was New York's finest – Spidey? How many times did he get his ass kicked compared to Supes? Or are you going to say Peter Parker was just a metaphor for the typical New York underdog?"

The teenagers faced off against each other for a moment before Jess spoke. "Your bath is going to over run."

"Shit!" Sam said turning to attend to the running water.

"Wouldn't want to ruin the floor would you?" Jess said taking a step into the bathroom as Sam straightened.

"No, I wouldn't," he said.

"Nice scar," Jess said mockingly as he noted the line on the other boy's back causing Sam to grab one of the shirts Jess had brought and quickly put it on.

"It isn't too bad."

"Rory's never seen that?"

"Yeah she did once, because we never got passed…well that is none of your business. Said it was an accident when I was a kid – she never pushed." Sam explained.

"Okay," Jess replied. "What the fuck happened then?"

"Florida. Dean wanted a break so he was on a 5 day 5 state thing." Sam said as he tested the water. Jess stood there for a few minutes making it clear that he wanted a better explanation.

"It's what got me stuck in Stars Hollow, okay."

"Right," Jess said incredulously.

"You get in a couple of fights and you get stuck on a bus. Me, it was almost being disembowelled as a party snack." Sam snarked causing Jess to stand his ground even further. "Me and my Dad were in the Everglades taking out…something. It had been scaring the shit out of high school cheerleaders; so my Dad thought that if we were taking the case best do it when Dean was tearing up the interstate as he tends to get distracted by girls in short skirts. Turned out it wasn't just interested in the girls because they were cheering something it didn't like. It had worked out the girls could be an all it could eat buffet because they were actually sticking to their abstinence pledge their coach had made them sign."

"It was stalking 'good' girls?" Jess asked.

"Easy identifiable meat," Sam explained. "And the thing was smart enough to figure that if it was just the cheerleaders disappearing the finger would just points to the local weirdoes. Thing was, when it got a sniff of me it decided it had found a way to recharge it batteries but piss my Dad off for even thinking about coming after its ass."

"Ouch," Jess said.

"Yeah, was messed up for a few days. Woke up to find Randy standing over my bed and my Dad packing my stuff, barking orders and saying I should have pointed things out the second we'd worked out why it was going after the girls." Sam explained. "Then I was here. Freaked, becoming very appreciative of my guts being on the inside and…well you kind of get the rest."

"Nice," Jess said.

"Stupid story, huh?" Sam said as he went to look at the stuff Jess had brought him. "These are nice."

"Yeah, some high end stuff for some charity thing that well…"

"I get it," Sam said.

"Just to let you know they are going to give you the third degree when you get down there – because really none of us understand what is going on here."

Sam grinned. "That is an understatement."

"You aren't as uptight as I thought you were," Jess said. "Even if you are full of shit."

Sam shrugged. "Dean Forester was uptight and you are still dick."

"Like your opinion really wounds me," Jess said as he closed the door.


	6. Chapter 6

He remembered being let in on the rules at the age of eleven – the real rules. Not the 'listen to your brother','keep your mouth shut around your teachers about how we live' and 'on no circumstances go anywhere near the weirdo motel manager when you are alone', rules; but the ones that seemed to haunt every waking hour ever since Dad had sat him down and told him that what he had read in that journal and what his brother had told him was true.

His father's real rules, the ones he learned when the reason why Uncle Bobby had all those weird books became clear. Why Pastor Jim was a crack shot as well as why he respected not only the King James but the Torah, Koran and every other religious text and could recite them from beginning to end and why Dean joked that Caleb was the go to guy. Yeah, the rules, the rules that John Winchester and his boys were expected to live by

Rule one – We do what we do and we shut up about it.

Rule Two – You do what you have to, to keep family safe

Rule three – You do what you have to, to come out alive

Rule four – If you get cornered you follow through and get yourself out

Rule five – Your feelings and anyone else's feelings, not to mention the truth, don't mean shit if it gets in the way of the first four rules

Sam took a breath. Christ being a Winchester was hard, especially when dressed as if he had just walked out of an Abercrombie and Fitch ad, which for some reason made him feel more uncomfortable than he used to feel when he turned up at a new school in a new pair of hand me downs that didn't fit.

"Are you going to just stand there young man or are you actually going to come down to join us?" he heard Richard Gilmore yell from the bottom of the stairs. Fuck, this was not good, he was…oh fuck this, he wasn't Dean Forester, there was no Dean Forester, there had never really had been a scared boyfriend trying to make a good impression.

He was the Sam, Sam Winchester, he'd faced down a hell of a lot of things he wasn't about to explain to Rory, her grandparents or anyone else. He was a goddamn Winchester for crying out loud, something he wasn't exactly proud of, but it didn't mean he wasn't capable of living up to being one.

"Sam?" He could hear Lorelai cry.

He took a steadying breath, remembering they weren't going grill him about the gun as it was still stashed down the back of the toilet where he had just left it, before he took a step forward to go down the stairs jokingly thinking, _"Well if it really goes badly I can always make a break for the bathroom then I can shoot my way out"_

As he started to descend the stairs he could see all of them, it looked like Luke had been pacing the floor while Richard had been serving drinks to a confused but pensive Emily and while Jess had settled in one of the couches across from Lorelai and Rory. Oh boy, Rory; she looked ashamed and scared and everything he knew she would if she ever found out the truth, and there was no way he could deny it to make her feel better. She had seen it, she had seen the real him. Not had it explained so letting her conceptualize it through the Rory filter of pro/con lists or a haze of literary characters and pop culture; no she had seen the job and gotten what the job could really mean.

The look on her face, the look as she worked through the realities about of how fucked up his life was, stopped him cold. '_Was it too late to bolt,'_ he wondered as all of those in that drawing room looked up at him.

"Well young man, are you going to stand there or join us?" Richard asked from his place at the drinks cabinet.

"I…" Sam hesitantly started to say.

"Well are you or aren't you Dean? Or whatever your name is?" Emily asked causing Sam to blush as he hovered on the staircase.

"Kid, get your ass down here, now," Luke gruffly snapped, causing Sam to automatically move before halting abruptly to glare at the older man.

Lorelai stood up to walk over to Luke as Sam continued to stare him down, putting herself between her friend and the staircase. "Sam, it is okay. You're safe and no-one is going to make you do anything you don't want to do."

"What?" Luke asked causing Lorelai to brush him off for a second as she focused her attention on Sam.

"He didn't mean to order you around. I get it has been a really weird time for you; it's weird for all of you, but…"

"I get it," Sam said, taking the final few steps down the stairs to finally sit beside Jess as he could hear Lorelai mutter something to Luke about how snapping at him right now wasn't a good idea and how it might remind him of his real family. Even though most shrinks would probably agree with her, all he could think was that there was actually little in the way of similarities between Luke Danes and John Winchester. For one thing their versions of pining over a girl could be considered slightly different.

"So, Sam?" Emily said catching Sam's attention.

"Yes ma'am?"

"Well, you are polite at least," Emily sarcastically said. "I understand that you told Rory that you'd stay this evening?"

"I said a few hours ma'am. Though if you don't want me here, I'm quite happy to go," Sam replied. "I don't want to cause any problems."

"Cause problems?" Jess scoffed causing Sam to glare at him as Emily observed him.

"Just to give him time Grandma, please," Rory said timidly as the maid entered to let Richard know that they had company.

"Thank you Inga, bring them in," Richard said to the girl.

Sam swallowed as he watched the girl go, he knew it wouldn't take them long to find him. He stood up readying himself to go, to which Richard gestured for the boy to sit down.

"Now let us see if we can make some sense of this mess," Richard said firmly to which Sam was about to argue when the little blonde girl came running into the room.

"Clara?" Rory asked as the child flung herself at the tall boy.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked as he disentangled the child from him.

"Didn't think she needed to listen to her father and sister discuss how she should tell us when she's in town," May said, following her daughter's lead by giving the tall boy a hug before unbuttoning her coat.

"I…, I…" Sam started to say only for May to nod her understanding before acknowledging everyone else in the room.

"Hello Mrs. Forester," Rory replied uncomfortably, to which Clara grumbled something that May didn't miss as she quickly and sharply directed her daughter to sit down and be quiet.

"Well isn't this a mess?" May said lightly as Clara settled.

"That is one way to describe it," Emily said. "That if the story my daughter told me is to be believed."

"A lot of things aren't exactly what they look like," May replied as Sam bowed his head.

"You aren't going to pretend we didn't see what we saw or that someone wasn't seriously hurt?" Lorelai said to which May just shrugged.

"No, but he's alive, isn't he?" she said before turning to Sam.

"You were told to stay at the hospital," she said to him sympathetically.

"Is he pissed?" Sam asked to which May sighed.

"Doesn't matter if people aren't happy," Luke interjected. "You can tell your friends…"

"You don't want to finish that sentence," May sharply said, cutting Luke off.

"I can see this situation is upsetting to everyone," Emily said.

"And if we can resolve it then maybe Sam here can find somewhere he can go that we all find agreeable," Richard replied.

"Dad, it isn't as simple as that," Lorelai said before turning to May.

"Look, I don't understand what the hell you are into or why, but it is dangerous. It is dangerous and you let kids go into that. Expect kids to deal with things like that," Lorelai snapped.

"Lorelai," Emily started to say as Sam blushed.

"Mom, they cut off a guy's arm," Lorelai said. "I know you and Dad think that we are making this up. But this kid here, who we find out has a completely different name than we thought; he helped blow up a building in front of us and then held a guy down while a his 'real' father cut off the poor guy's arm because he was ordered to."

"These guys really saw everything then?" May asked before turning to Sam.

"Dean picked up the empty thrower and I needed a ride," Sam admitted before looking at the carpet.

"And here was I hoping Leila was exaggerating," May added. "How bad was it?"

"I…I…I'm not sure what happened. There were some old drums."

"Okay, okay, okay," she said running a palm over her face. "At least Bobby is with them so there is one sane mind working the job. But first thing first, your Dad told me to tell you that he is giving you some time to sort out what you need to if you don't want to come with me right now."

Sam's head shot up. "What?"

"So how long have we got before Sam's Dad comes beating down the door here?" Jess asked. "That is if he is giving Sam time?"

"Jess, stay out of this," Sam hissed.

"Yeah, you stay out of this, this is your and her fault anyways," Clara spat out at Jess.

"Clara, be quiet," May snapped before asking Emily if there was somewhere her and Sam could talk privately.

"But Mom…" Clara started to whine.

"Clara, you stay there," May said turning as Richard pointed them to his study.

After a moment or two Lorelai started to head after them.

"What are you doing?" Emily said.

"To find out what they are talking about, because I am not risking her talking him into simply walking out of here," Lorelai said causing the rest of them to follow after her to congregate at the study door.

"My mom won't like it," Clara said as she swung her legs as she sat on the couch.

-o-

"I…" they could hear Sam saying as they listened through the door.

"Sam, your father isn't stupid," May started explain. "He knows part of the reason you've been dragging things out and I understand it."

"Understand it?"

"Two years Sam?" May replied. "Rory's sweet, but really, that long? If you had gone out with Lane maybe you would have gotten away with it. Your Dad would have just taken it was because of her Mom. Though your brother would have probably tried to perform an exorcism on Mrs. Kim, just in case. "

Sam didn't respond for a moment. "What does Randy think?"

"You know what he thinks, you are a good guy, a good hunter, he's proud to work with you and have you under our roof," May said.

"Then why say that I have to go? You know I can pay my way, I can get another job and pay more if you want, just for a few more months over the summer," Sam begged. "Tell my Dad you need me to stay because I can cover anything that is in the local area."

May let out a long sigh. "Sam, you want to stay off the road you bring it up with John, don't use us as a way to get what you want."

"But, he'll listen to you."

"No!" May said. "You aren't a kid anymore Sam, and your Dad only wants what is best for you."

"Best for me?"

"Don't you start that bullshit," May snapped. "And there are worse things out there than your old man."

"Tell that to Dean," Sam snapped back. "Tell me that the best Dean can hope for isn't being forty years old, chasing skirt at some dive while he is still trying to find the thing that killed my Mom because he's trying to make my Dad proud years after I get a call at some point telling me that we have to go burn my Dad's bones? Tell me that?"

"Sam, remember I am not your mother, I don't have to take your righteous bullshit while you run down your father and don't give your brother any respect to justify why you don't have the balls to deal with this situation," May retorted angrily. "You keep going on that you are able to deal with your own shit; then do it! You can't keep putting it off by embarrassing yourself any longer. You've let everyone know that you got that girl was bored and that you pissing about like a territorial fourth grader wasn't working. So just let it go so you can deal with what is important and she can really move on, with the smart mouth who seems to think the sun shines out her ass and gets her wet in the cu…."

"May!" Sam yelled just as Richard opened the door as the woman looked as she was fit to burst.

"I think it is time that you leave," Richard said curtly.

"Don't worry I'm going," May replied before turning to Sam. "Sam, you can't just play at civilian so figure what you are doing and get on with it."

"Yes, May," Sam said with a slow nod of his head.

"Oh Sammy," she said walking over to give him a warm hug and a peck on his forehead before looking him in the eye. "You know you are going to be the death of all of us some day."

"Don't say that," Sam replied nervously.

She smiled warmly. "Whatever happens, don't be a stranger."

"I won't," Sam said as she turned to go collect her daughter.

Sam took a steadying breath, holding back the tears.

"Well I never," Emily said as May closed the front door behind her and the younger girl while Rory just stared at Sam.

"The woman has her mind in the gutter and talks like a common street-walker," Emily continued to say causing Sam to snap.

"She was never common," Sam snapped. "You have no idea; none of you have any idea at all."

"Sam!" Rory said as he barged past them and headed for the door to the patio, finding himself standing in front of the pool.

"Sam, it is okay," Luke said after a few seconds before he slowly edged Sam away from the pool. "Just you come back here."

"May didn't mean…" Sam started to say. "She isn't common, you don't know. Christ, I fucked this all up, Luke. I really fucked it all up."


	7. Chapter 7

"Are they okay?" Lorelai asked as Richard and Luke came back in from the back patio where they had left the three teenagers.

"As much as they can be," Luke replied.

Richard shook his head. "This is a mess, Lorelai."

"Tell me about," his daughter replied.

"So what do you expect to happen now?" Emily asked. "Are you two planning to call the police? That boy needs to get some official help."

Luke shrugged. "I don't know."

"And what would we tell them, Mom?" Lorelai asked Emily. "That we have a teenager that we have known for years and it turns out he is living under an assumed name? Like they are really going to help him."

"Lorelai, that is what the police are for and if you are planning to try and keep the boy separated from his family then that is the best course of action," Richard replied

Lorelai took a breath. "Dad, Sam's legally not a child."

"Lorelai, you can't be sure he is really 18," Luke said.

"This is Connecticut, Luke. Sam isn't under 16," Lorelai argued. "There is no way we can pretend he is and he is the only concrete thing we have that ties together our story. A story in which we saw him blow up a building and help to cut of a guy's arm. That isn't like the going off the rails stuff Jess got involved with. If the cops come, they'll take him and it won't be a foster home they stick him in or even juvie while they work things out. It will be jail and not the nice kind."

"If his family are bad as you make out, or are like that woman who was looking after him, it might be the safest place for him," Emily said.

"Really, Mom? He's a kid. You saw how worked up he got. He's scared, confused and all we know for sure is that he doesn't want to live that life and you think the safest place for him is to stick him in a jump suit and throw him in a cage with a bunch of hardened cons who…,I don't want to think about what they'd do to him," Lorelai said.

"Look, I know what he said got to you," Luke said. "And from seeing May, I can understand why he said it. But you aren't responsible for that kid."

"What did he say?" Richard asked.

"It's nothing," Lorelai said glaring at Luke for a moment.

"Lorelai, he may have said you are the closet thing he has ever had to a mother, but that doesn't mean that you are," Luke snapped. "But I'm agreeing with you about the cops right now."

"Why?" Richard asked.

Luke ran a tired hand over his face. "Because even without the fact that we'd be sending the kid to a place he doesn't deserve to go the cops were useless when we called them last time. They had a drunk, defenseless kid, who they were told was in danger, passed out right in front of them in a motel room and they listened to a guy who looked like he'd slept in the clothes he was in. Sam's Dad isn't a dumb guy and from the looks of not only does he know how to play the system, but after watching what he did at that warehouse isn't frightened of it. Plus he seems to have some well armed friends. If we call the cops who is to say how it is going to turn out."

"And you thought coming here is a good idea?" Emily asked as Richard handed her a drink.

"We didn't know where else to go," Lorelai said.

"Oh thank you," Emily mockingly replied.

"Don't you have some type of security company on speed dial?" Luke asked.

"That maybe the case, but still..." Richard replied.

"If we had left Sam at the hospital, God knows where he'd be by now. They could have picked him up and taken him out of state," Luke said. "From the way Rory talked, from what his Dad said…"

"Mom," Lorelai interjected. "At some point those people, his own father, are going to make that boy cross a line that he has been trying desperately not to cross, to the point he's been driving himself insane. You saw what he was like after May left."

"And you think it is safe to leave Rory with the boy?" Richard asked in disbelief.

"That is the one thing I am sure of. He's been respectful of her for over two years. I doubt he is going to be anything different now," Lorelai said.

"Well, that was when the boy had a use for her," Emily interjected. "Does he have one now? And even if he is still 'respectful' to Rory, what about Jess? Can you say the boy is going to feel the same about him considering that Rory's feelings for your nephew Luke, lead to that boy's 'cover' being blown?"

Luke paled before quickly moving over to the back window to look out at the three teenagers who were presently dangling their feet in the Gilmore pool.

* * *

><p>"So what do you think they are talking about?" Rory asked as she saw the curtains twitch for a moment before she saw her mother pulling Luke away from the window.<p>

Sam continued to look down at the light blue water as it gently lapped the concrete walls. "Either wondering if my Dad is going to storm the place or if I am going to go crazy and end up gutting Jess."

"Excuse me?" Jess asked.

"I'm not mentally unstable, I'm a freak, but not to Hannibal Lecter proportions," Sam said causing an icy silence to descend between the two boys.

"So is he going to storm the gates?" Rory asked breaking in. "You know your Dad…Sam. Boy that is still weird, calling you Sam. But then again everything you told me was a lie. Everything was a lie, wasn't it?"

Sam shook his head. "No, I told you, not all of it. Not how I felt about you and my Dad isn't going to storm the gates. Why would he? He knows I'm safe here."

"And what would he do if he thought you weren't safe?" Jess asked to which Sam just shrugged.

"That's reassuring," Jess replied.

Sam smiled. "He said he'd give me a few hours and that's what he'll do. Then he'll expect me to come along, even if I don't want to."

"What about wanting to go to school?" Rory asked to which Sam shrugged. "When your Dad hears you've got the scores to go? He wouldn't be against you doing that; would he?"

"School was never exactly high on my Dad's list of priorities. We just had to go enough to keep child protective services away," Sam explained. "Plus living the way we did; school was…well it was our baby sitter a lot of the time."

"We?" Rory asked.

"He's got a brother remember," Jess said. "Remember, the real Dean."

"Christ, when saying all this stuff out loud makes my life sound even more screwed," Sam said scrubbing his hands through his unruly hair. "Because seriously, what kid thinks his Dad wouldn't be happy about getting grades good enough to get to college."

They sat there for about five minutes silently looking into the clear brightly light water as all three of them sat there feet dangling in the pool.

"Rory's Grandmother was kinda out of line," Jess quietly said causing both Sam and Rory to look up at him.

"About your…May," Jess said. "She could have put things a hell of a lot better but well, you know what I'm trying to say."

Sam huffed. "Please don't. I don't need sympathy and yeah May can be a bit colorful at times. She's got good heart though; just she doesn't get too close to people."

"That's what I meant dickwad," Jess said sarcastically. "She was a bit full on, but she seems to care about you."

"Yeah she does," Sam replied. "May's a good friend."

"Friend?" Rory repeated. "Is that why you said that thing about my Mom?"

Sam focused his gaze on the water. "Can we not talk about that?"

"Okay," Rory said just as a small splash disturbed the teenagers.

"What the..?" Jess asked as Sam got up.

"Hell no!" Sam exclaimed.

"But May said that your Dad was giving you a few hours?" Rory said as Sam ran round the other side of the pool to greet the figure coming out of her grandparents' shrubbery.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Sam asked.

"Thought I'd check out the real estate," Dean said before looking his little brother up and down. "What the hell are you wearing?"

"Don't start," Sam said as he could see his brother's face contort in laughter.

"Sam?" Rory asked getting to her feet.

"Oh, she's got that you're Sam now, has she?" Dean said obviously holding back the giggles. "Now that you are all preppied up, Mr.….Dude, you look like you just stepped out of a catalog. Uncomfortable Teenager who dressed wrong for the beach."

"I am not!" Sam said firmly before he noted that his brother was staring at his bare feet and his rolled up pants legs. He knotted his brow as his anger grew. "Yeah, fashion comments from the guy who keeps stealing his Dad's leather jacket."

"Do not!" Dean replied.

"What Dad given up and just let you have the thing now, just like the car?"

"You getting pissy about me being able to keep a set of wheels?" Dean asked firmly. "Dad got you a bike, you crapped that one; and don't get me started on the car. You gave it away."

"You still going on about the car?" Sam asked as Rory and Jess watched on. Dean mumbled something to which Sam quickly shot a look back at the other two looking somewhat embarrassed before turning back to his brother.

"Why are you here?" Sam asked firmly.

I just thought I'd…, ask how these people were treating you," Dean said gesturing in the direction of the house.

"What the hell do you think they are going to do to me? Brainwash me?" Sam asked.

Dean pouted before glancing over at Rory and Jess. "Why are you hanging with them? I thought we agreed he was a douche and she was a…she wasn't worth it?"

"No, you said that."

"Well you called him something that I've only heard a Forester say," Dean retorted. "Granted it was Clara but still? Jesus that kid can be harsh. Not to mention a little psychopathic if you ask me."

"You realize you started all of that," Sam said.

"Jeez, it was the kid they caught trying to cut that brake line, not me. How was I supposed to know why she was asking how to do it," Dean replied as Sam started to walk away.

"As you can see I'm all right," Sam said with his back to his brother who started to follow. "So you can go and tell Dad, I'm fine."

"Like I'd do that," Dean replied causing Sam to turn round somewhat confused.

"What?" Dean asked. "That's between you and him, not me."

"Then if you aren't here just to report back, why are you here?" Sam asked.

Dean shifted uncomfortably for a moment before holding out the bag that had been previously sitting on his shoulder.

"Oh come on man," Sam said in disbelief. "Can't you?"

"But you're better at it than me," Dean replied to which Sam replied with an angry stare. "It isn't like I can ask Bobby to double check; he's cooling Dad down and Lelia was all _'Don't let my Dad see that or we'll be dealing with him throwing his back out again.'"_

Sam huffed looking over at the other tense and confused teenagers before turning to his brother. "No! No! May said I had a couple of hours before Dad came, so no. I am not doing your research."

"What research?" Dean asked. "We know the what and the who. Just a quick double check that we didn't miss anything."

"We razed the nest Dean," Sam protested to which his brother scratched his nose which caused Sam's shoulders to fall.

"Yeah, but that is no excuse to get sloppy," Dean reasoned. "And you understand how the Foresters' organize things. I don't. Their filing system gets me confused."

"That has nothing to do with it, you just don't want to," Sam reasoned.

"It's Lelia's case not mine, she did the leg work on it before she tagged Bobby. I'm just muscle here and that was because you dumped 'her' with impressive style," Dean retorted nodding in the direction of a silent Rory. "But hey if you want us to stick around this Peyton Place, White bread state then fine. I'll just try and dissect Lelia's files by myself, while the Foresters' decide to go through another round of their type of family therapy. Hell, why don't I call Caleb and see if he wants to cover my back, while I make sure all the 'i's are dotted and 't''s are crossed."

"What about Bobby and Dad? Why don't you ask one of them to double check that everything tallies up?" Sam asked sarcastically to which his brother shoved his free hand into his pocket to fish out a couple of shells and a magazine for Sam to look at for a moment.

"The rest of their ammo is in the Impala," Dean said. "By the time they work out it's all gone from the back of the pickup and they'll have to get some more I figure that they'll have calmed down enough not to fill each other full of lead."

"They haven't started already have they?" Sam asked to which his brother just gave him a sympathetic smile while continuing to hold the bag out to his brother.

"Please Sam?" Dean asked. "For me? Just to make sure I'm being paranoid."

"You are being paranoid."

"Fine, you say that," Dean huffed. "What with the ones who put this all together being distracted with family crap and in some cases not even his own family, because Bobby does put up with a lot of shit from us. So tell me what with that how could anything been possibly missed."

"Lelia and you flushed the sewers while Dad and Bobby took the top side, plus the guy didn't turn. We didn't miss anything," Sam protested.

"Apart from you apparently turning into a Male Model," Dean replied. "That could be the most worrying thing about all of this."

Sam glared at his brother before snatching the bag out his brother's hand. "Fine, I'll take the fucking thing."

"Thanks man," Dean said with a smile before rubbing his hands together. "Now, where can I get something to eat in this neighborhood?"

"Don't push it," Sam said as he started to look through the satchel.

"Sam?" Jess asked confused causing the brothers to look at him. "What is going on?"

Sam knotted his brow before turning to his brother. "It's best you go."

"Because they are telling me to?" Dean asked his little brother.

"No, because I'm asking you too," Sam replied. "I'll look at this stuff. I will."

"You said you would, so you I know that," Dean said turning to address Jess and Rory. "And I'll go for him. Not you, douche or anyone else."

"Dean!" Sam growled. "Keep the noise down will you?"

"Why are the security detail that this place has going to come running because I'm a little loud?" Dean snapped back as the back door opened and Richard Gilmore stepped out.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"Oh shit," Sam mumbled.

"This is Sam's brother Grandpa," Rory mumbled as she held onto tightly to Jess' arm. "He just came to give Sam some things and check if he is okay. But he's said he's going now."

"Going is he?" Richard pondered.

"Well, that is unless there is some food going?" Dean interjected as he obviously noted the glass in Richard's hand, causing Sam to run a tired palm over his face in frustration. "Or isn't it that type of party?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Know it has been a long time since I have posted anything but am trying to get back into flow so hesitant few and far postings have resumed.**

**Yeah I know the grammar here needs sorting - if anyone willing to help, please let me know.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>"So Dick, is it Dick?" Dean asked as he looked round the reception room.<p>

"Dude, it's Mr Gilmore," Sam said with a sneer.

"Really?" Dean asked . "Makes him sound like that social studies teacher you had in 8th grade."

"8th Grade, you say? Well could have been one of six," Sam retorted o which his brother glared back.

"They've got that we didn't exactly grow up in a normal home, Dude," Sam retorted causing his brother to loosen his stance a little.

"Fine, but you know the one I'm talking about," Dean replied.

"Which one?" Sam asked as he tried to get his shoe back on.

"You know the one. High on cough syrup half the time and had you memorise that stuff? Remember you kept going over it and over it so much I was mumbling it in my sleep," Dean replied to his little brother who was tying his shoe lace at that moment.

"You mean the amendments of the Constitution of the United States?" Sam mumbled. "The thing that is the foundation of the government of this country."

Dean stood there for a second looking quizzically at his younger brother, not saying anything, though the look was causing the younger boy to shrink a little.

"It is kind of important," Rory interjected, coming to Sam's defence.

"Well, it isn't like anyone here is going to be made to take a citizenship test is it?" Dean said, somewhat dismissively as he went back to taking in the rather plush surroundings before turning around to face one very pissed and slightly uncomfortable looking Sam Winchester standing in front of him with one pants leg half rolled up while the trainer on his right foot was untied. Dean turned around to gauge the rest of the room, straightening up on seeing the serious expressions on everyone's faces.

"You can call me Richard," Richard said sternly. "And this is my wife Emily."

Dean coughed, tugged on his jacket before extending his hand to the seated Emily Gilmore. "Nice to meet you, ma'am. I just came to… I…well you have a nice house ma'am."

"Yes I do," Emily replied coolly as Dean pulled back. He took a few seconds nodding his acknowledgment to both Luke and Lorelai before turning to Richard.

"Well I just came to see if Sammy was okay and to see if he has something of mine," Dean replied, before turning to his brother. "So do you? That…thing I gave you?"

Sam knotted his brow. "What thing?"

"You know that…thing," Dean said scratching his head. "That thing I gave you to hold on to, Sunny?"

"What thin…?" Sam asked, stopping half way through the sentence before glancing in the direction of upstairs.

Dean looked up the stair case for a second before looking around the room. "Forget it. I'll get it from you later."

"Like when your 'wrath of God' Dad joins us?" Jess interjected.

"Jess, shut up," Sam hissed before he turned to his brother. "Dean, I didn't…I… remember they saw."

"Dude, stop straining yourself," Dean remarked as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

Sam looked despondently as the rest of the room stood there in silence.

"So nice house," Dean reiterated obviously not sure what to do.

"My daughter has told me that you and your father are involved in,"

"It's complicated," Dean said. "And I'm guessing that is my cue to leave. Ehmm, where is the front door?"

"Wait," Lorelai said.

"Excuse me?" Dean replied.

"You mentioned food?" Lorelai replied. "We can get you something to eat."

"Lorelai what are you doing?" Luke asked as the rest of the room looked at her.

"Hey, as much as I am all for a free meal as the next guy, I'm getting the vibe, lady. I'd better hit the road," Dean said.

"But you are here to see if your brother is okay aren't you?" Lorelai asked causing Dean to give a somewhat cautious nod. "So a two minute conversation with him? Can't really find out much from that. So why do we get you, say a sandwich and you can talk things through."

"A sandwich?" Dean quizzically said.

"Yeah a sandwich and a beer?" Lorelai replied. "I'm sure my parents have a beer or two somewhere."

"A beer? Sure I can do a beer if you want," Dean tentatively replied.

Lorelai turned to her mother. "Mom, that okay with you, if we rustle up Dean here a sandwich and a beer."

"We should be able to do something for the young man," Emily said getting up to guide Dean towards the kitchen only to be closely followed by Luke and Sam.

"Mom what are you doing?" Rory asked her mother after the others had left.

"Yes, Lorelai what are you thinking?" Richard asked.

"I'm not sure," Lorelai quickly said.

"Lorelai!" Richard said.

She nodded. "Okay, you wanted to call the police, but I said we shouldn't as it would land Sam in trouble."

"Yes."

"Maybe we should," Lorelai replied. "Now that…"

"You can't be serious in thinking about selling Sam's brother down the river?" Jess asked.

"No, well, maybe. If we have to," Lorelai admitted.

"Mom!" Rory exclaimed.

"Rory, I'm not saying it will come to that. I'm sure that anything…Dean, there has done is because he was going along with his Dad. But, him being here means that maybe we can go to the police and get Sam, out of this mess and hopefully his brother too. But if we can't get we at least have someone else to show the police our story is real and get Sam out."

"Other than the guy who now has one arm and the blown up warehouse?" Jess asked.

"No Jess, not a one armed guy. A guy, who we drove to the hospital after he became one armed. Who, if we are very lucky, won't remember that Luke was standing right over him when some guy took a machete to him while three guys, including a boy who we know doesn't want any part of it, were told to hold him down," Lorelai snapped. She took a breath steadying herself as her father put her drink into her hand.

"Rory, can you and your friend give me and your mother a minute?" Richard said.

* * *

><p>"Seriously Sunny?" Sam asked as Dean watched the young maid fix him a snack.<p>

"What are you saying,_" _Dean mumbled backed.

"Butch, can you look at me and not be concentrating on that girl's ass?" Sam said with a sigh before swatting his brother in the arm.

"Hey!" a startled Dean said as he reacted by hitting his brother back. "Stop being a bitch."

"Dude, you are being a jerk," Sam retorted.

"Sorry Ma'am," Dean said turning his attention to Emily who was standing nearby as was a stoic Luke.

"That is alright, I understand boys will be boys," she said coldly before handing him a glass.

"Thanks ma'am," Dean said. "And I promise I'm not going to steal your silver. For one thing not only would Luke there try and kick my as…backside but Sammy would too, after me taking advantage of your hospitality. Not to mention I kind of messed up one of your Barberry bushes."

"Barberry bush?" Emily said.

"Yeah," Dean sheepishly admitted. "I kind of landed on it when I jumped your wall ma'am. You can save it but considering it is a real blind spot you might want put something a bit more ….thorny there until you tell your security company to shape up."

Emily looked confused at the young man in front of her. "Really?"

Dean rubbed the back of his neck as he shifted a little uncomfortably under her gaze. "I'm just saying, because I'm not trying to scare you. Really I'm not; I only came here so I can see Sammy. But considering your nice place and all…. Well, you don't want anyone else to use it in any way like I did."

"Well that is good to know," Emily replied. "Thank you for the information."

Dean smiled. "Glad to be of help ma'am. I know things got kind of weird between Sammy and your granddaughter but I know he cares about her so it wouldn't be right of me not to tell you something like that. Especially as I'm guessing you are probably aren't paying nickel and dimes to whoever installed that fancy CCTV system that your street has."

"Dude," Sam said hitting his brother again.

"What?" Dean said.

"Do you want to make out you were casing the joint even more?" Sam asked.

"I'm giving her the info," Dean said which illicit a glare. "I'm trying to be nice."

"Yeah, nice," Sam muttered. "You are scaring people."

"Really?" Dean said turning his attention to Emily and Luke. "I'm sorry if I scared you ma'am and ... you too, Dude."

"No, that is all right," Emily said as Inga handed placed the sandwich in front of Dean which in turn caused him to grin at her.

"Thank you Inga," Emily said as the girl lingered unsure of herself for a second. "I think that will be all for the day."

"But what about the dinner?" Inga asked in somewhat broken English.

"Don't worry about that," Emily said. "Please go home."

"Yes, Mrs Gilmore," Inga said as she gave her employer a slight nod.

"You are such a dog," Sam mumbled as his brother's gaze followed the girl as she left the room

"Keep telling you, you have take time to appreciate the little things, Sammy," Dean retorted not caring that he was being watched.

"Seriously, how are we related, Dean?" Sam asked.

"I've been asking Dad that since you were five and the best version I got is that he 'thinks' they brought the right kid back from the hospital but he can't be sure."

"Can't be sure that Sam here was the right kid?" Luke asked.

"Oh, Dad's as sure as he can be that Sammy here is ours, but he's the first to admit that they really doped him up after Sammy was born. But that was on account of the broken jaw."

"Broken jaw?" Sam asked.

"Yeah; did he never tell you?"

"No."

"Cause you never asked did you?" Dean said half-heartedly.

"What was there to ask?" Sam retorted.

"Well story goes you were taking your sweet time about actually putting in an appearance in the delivery room and Mom...she had a mean right hook when it came down to it," Dean said with a smile.

"Seriously?" Sam asked to which Dean shrugged before taking a bite out of his sandwich. "You are just making that shit up."

Dean dropped the sandwich and clipped Sam around the back of the head. "'anguage, 'there's a 'ady pressen."

"Like talking with your mouth full is a sign of good manners."

"I'm a lost cause, you're not" Dean said swallowing his sandwich. He turned to Emily. "I'm sorry ma'am; he was raised better than that."

"That is good to know," Emily said nodding to Luke. "Why don't we leave you two to catch up?"

"Thanks ma'am," Dean replied. "And this is a really good sandwich. Can you tell that girl she makes a really good sandwich."

"I'll pass that along," Emily replied as she took Luke by the arm.

"So the Sunny thing?" Dean asked his brother.

"Yeah, Sunny?" Sam asked.

"Well what do you expect? Me to outright say that while I'm here I might as well collect the pea shooter you got before someone else finds it and totally over reacts? I figured you'd get the idea."

"Nowhere in that movie did anyone call the Sundance kid 'Sunny'."

"But still didn't stop you getting that I'm Paul Newman, right?" Dean said with a smile before taking a swig of the beer before grabbing his coat.

"How long have I got?" Sam asked. "Before Dad comes?"

"I don't know. If you want I can get him to hold off a couple of hours if you want to get your head straight. I'll tell him you are looking over Leila's file and you'll lose your thread if you have to lay it out a second time."

"And you still get me to do work for you?"

"What can I say _Quid Pro Quo, Yes or No?" _Dean said. _"Yes or No, Clarice."_

"And I thought Lorelai was bad with the film quotes," Sam said as Dean gleefully ripped a bite out of his sandwich. "Fine."

"Hey, don't be like that, but I better go," Dean said. "If the cops aren't here already it means your friends still haven't worked out on how to explain things without sounding insane. But from what you tell me that won't last for long."

Sam snorted. "If the cops aren't here by now, then they haven't called them to withdraw the statements given at the hospital."

"Yeah and you've always had a lot more faith in people than me," Dean scoffed. "They might not have called them when they had just you in the building but they probably have been trying to work out how to make the phone call ever since your ex's mom offered me the keys to her folks' liquor cabinet."

"She suggested you have a beer after you invited yourself inside for food."

"True, but she did that as she's worked out she could have a patsy she can hand over to the cops and keep you out of it,once they decide how to explain to them about witnessing a Cuco's nest being burnt down in Modern day New England and not sound crazy," Dean retorted. "Which in a way is kind of nice, them trying to protect you?"

"You are paranoid," Sam said.

"It isn't paranoia if it can happen and remember last time you were over confident about something not going after you? The stupid '_I may be like those girls, but I am not a girl_.' You ended up here remember?" Dean said with a smile.

"Fine, I get it," Sam retorted. "We'll go before they call the 'cops'."

"No I said I'm going, not you. I need you to check Leila's stuff for me and that is never helped when you and Dad get straight into it. Plus if you go with me now, these folk will call the cops without a story and they will send them straight to the Foresters' door," Dean said. "Last thing May and Randy need considering they finally found a good shrink to send Clara too."

"So you admit the kid needs help?" Sam asked.

"Never said she didn't, just don't blame me for the brakes thing," Dean retorted. "You think they'll find the piece?"

"It's stashed behind a toilet on the second floor. But there is little chance of me getting it right now. It's next to the guest bedrooms, which means taking the main stairs, but it should be safe until the morning, the maid went home remember. "

"Yeah, shame that," Dean replied.

"Leave the maid alone, Dean," Sam said getting up from the counter.

"Fine but you'll call me if you find anything?"

"Sure," Sam said. "And Dean, if you are leaving try and use a door."


	9. Chapter 9

Okay this isn't beta'd and is jerky but I'm trying to get my mojo back with regard to writing.

* * *

><p>Sam was greeted with an awkward silence when he re-entered the living room alone. The discomfort of Rory and Luke couldn't help but give him the feeling that his brother had been right especially seeing how Lorelai and her father were nowhere to be seen. All of which kind of set his teeth on edge, one he hated that Dean was right and two he hated that the people he vouched for had probably dropped his family right in it while trying to protect him. It was like his third grade teacher all over again when he told her that he got that bruise on his side because Dean had tried to show him something that Dean had learned during one of Dad and Dean's 'one on one' training sessions.<p>

He stood there for a moment before going over to take the bag off of Rory, which thankfully from the look on her face she hadn't looked in. If she had she wouldn't be looking so guilty about now, more a pale shade of green as sweet little Rory tried to keep down whatever was in her stomach a she would have found a file containing pictures of the remains of dismembered elementary school aged kids.

"He's gone," Sam said quietly shouldering the bag.

"What?" Luke asked

"My brother," Sam replied, straightening up. "He had somewhere to be, so he went."

"Oh…" Rory said sounding somewhat relieved but a little disappointed at the same time.

Emily nodded going towards the drinks cabinet to freshen her drink. "That is a shame. He seemed like an interesting young man."

"Thank you ma'am," Sam replied causing Luke and Rory to look at him a little funny.

"Well does that mean he is coming back for you? Or are you meeting him later?" Emily asked to which he shrugged.

"Is that your response?" Emily enquired to which Sam got a nudge from Rory.

"I don't know," Sam said quietly.

She nodded, before looking behind him, "Richard, it appears that we need to talk to the security company and the landscaper."

"Why is that dear," Richard said as he strode towards the group with a tense Lorelai following on behind him.

"Well according to Sam's brother we are somewhat lacking on precautions against intruders."

"Really?" Richard said. "And where is the young man."

"He thought he should go," Sam said before he bit his lip. "Before the cops got here?"

"What?" Lorelai said a little surprised.

"So you called them yet?" Sam asked the room.

"De...Sam, we…" Rory started to say causing Sam to give her a warm look.

"It's okay," Sam said with a nod before heading upstairs. "I understand so does he? Just call me when they get here."

* * *

><p>It was weird standing there in the drive way fingering the cigarette in his hand, the last one he had, the stress of the day had caused him to go from his usual one or two a week when the boredom of Stars Hollow got to him to almost a whole packet. Not that Luke or Rory had noticed him sneaking out during the whole of this. Not with 'Sam' being the centre of attention right now, which suited him fine seeing how it'd only mean they'd give him a lecture for not completely giving up his habit.<p>

But there was a difference between disappearing for 10 minutes when he had gotten to his limits and disappearing to try and hit a local store because he doubted they would start missing him after that. Probably think that Sam's asshole of a father had done something to him in retaliation for keeping his boy from him. Though really if dumping the guy in Stars Hollow for over two years wasn't a sign that the guy had a screwed up view of caring where his kid was, letting him bust out the second storey of an exploding warehouse window without batting an eye was sure a sign of something.

He rolled the thing in his hand one more time before putting it back into the packet with a sigh; thinking that he should save it for when the cops appeared and dragged Sam's older brother…the real Dean out of the house. Yeah, better keep it for that because this place will really be just be one step off a 5 star spa resort after that happens.

Though for a second he thought he could hear giggling from behind the driveway wall. Yeah high pitch girl like giggling from behind the wall, where he found the big ugly ass muscle car from earlier that evening was sitting.

"No, you really not …should say that," Rory's grandparents' maid said giggling as she stood there obviously flirting with the Sam's older brother.

'Okay' Jess thought firstly, before thinking about how Sam's brother must be the biggest idiot he had ever come across. Dean was really standing outside the elder Gilmore's House without a care in the world trying to hook up with a maid, who from the accent and the falling over her words had barely a working grasp of English.

He stood there for a moment just by the gate post watching them, seeing Dean's easy manner as he was getting somewhere with this girl, only a few hours after this mess had started. Everyone else who was involved had been traumatised for life and this guy was acting that the only thing that was important was his dick.

"You know if you take a picture it will last longer," Dean said suddenly turning his head to engage Jess. "Then you can piss off."

He turned his head back to the girl who seemed a little more embarrassed now seeing how she suddenly whispered something in Dean's ear before rushing off.

"Well, she seemed really into you," Jess said to which Dean shrugged before opening the door to the car.

"Your brother is the only one in there with any idea what is going on in that house and instead of sticking around and helping him you are going to take off because some maid isn't going to hook up with you?" Jess asked.

"No sirens yet," Dean said. "Think Sammy will be okay on that score."

"Yeah, sure he will after everything you guys have done."

"Oh her name is Inga, at least be polite," Dean retorted dismissively as he got into the car.

"Yeah like that is the most important thing to think of right now," Jess said as Dean got into the car causing the younger man to angrily bring down a fist on the hood.

"I'm talking to you," Jess spat out as the door opened.

"Seriously?" Dean questioned. "What is your damage?"

"My damage?"

"Yeah, your damage?" Dean asked.

"You are seriously fucked up?" Jess said. "No wonder your brother wants nothing to do with you."

Dean tensed for a second as Jess saw a moment of hurt pass in the lean broad shouldered individual in front of him before a lightness swept over him. "Really and you would care about that? Thought he was just getting in your way."

"My way?" Jess said. "Like Rory would ever have really done anything like you wanted with him."

"Excuse me?"

"Well wasn't that the plan, Sammy getting it on with Rory?" Jess asked. "She would never have put out with a liar like that, not that Sam was expecting her too in the end. Seems like he was dragging it out with her for appearances just to stay away from you."

"What do you mean dragging it out for appearances?" Dean asked as he leant on the top of the car door causing Jess to pull back not sure how to answer. Both of them standing there hesitating for a minute.

"So Rory was just appearance? Explains why he hung on for so long, but her? Dean replied with a smirk. "That is right isn't it? He had to dump her before she would go with you?"

"What is your point?" Jess said hurt.

"So you scheme around her until her boyfriend gets pissed off?" Dean sighed. "Dude, have some dignity. Picking up other guys' leftovers isn't a good look but if that is your thing I'll ask Sammy to give you a call the next time he wants to dump a girl."

Jess gritted his teeth as Dean started to get in the car causing the older boy to stop

"What? Did I hit a nerve?" Dean asked as Jess stood there saying nothing. He bent to get into the car. "Well good luck with Rory, you two might even get past second base someday."

As the engine started Jess started to see red bending down to pick up a rock launching it awkwardly into the air in the end just catching the roof of the car. Though it did cause a sudden haul in the revving of the engine.

Dean slowly and deliberately got out of the car. "Kid, you are pushing it."

"Really?" Jess said. "I'm the one that is pushing it?"

"Go walk it off," Dean said firmly.

"Yeah sure I'll walk it off what with you in your….tricked out…junker."

"Excuse me?"

"Seriously, you build it out of the leftovers your brother built Rory's car out of?" Jess said. "Because I'm telling you that thing, the steering on that was shit. This one is probably held together under the paint job and saw dust."

Dean closed the door on the car as Jess stood there anger flowing from every pore. "You really want to do this, don't you?"

Jess glared back. "Really now you are pissed at me?"

"Well…," Dean said hesitating for a moment as the teenager in front of him stood one step from launching himself at him. "Oh Fuck it."

* * *

><p>Sam sat on the floor, pulling files out of the bag as Lorelai tried to explain the conversation her and her father had had in his office through the door of Rory's room. About how they hadn't called anyone yet but if they did and the authorities were brought in to this the correct way that Sam and his brother possibly could get out of this mess by explaining how they were just following the lead of others. How Sam could try and have the life he said he wanted if…he let his father take the blame.<p>

He started to try and arrange the paper as she said she wasn't trying to betray him by suggesting that calling the police to talk to his brother. Not that he really did think she was betraying him or anyone, it was just she didn't get it and in typical Gilmore style never would.

"Sam?" Rory said as she gently put a hand on his to bring his focus off of the paperwork and back to the voices outside the door. It was just then his cell vibrated in his back pocket. He looked at her for a moment before taking it out to read the text.

"_For the record it wasn't about the girl. And he started. D"_


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay - thanks to you have reviewed that last chapter. It is nice to know people still read even with the huge big breaks in between my chapters.**

**Secondly I am sorry about the grammar - I don't have a beta so I can't pretend any mistakes aren't my own.**

**Thirdly, little side note in this tale, Sam is 18, Jess is 18 that means Dean Winchester is 22. **

**I know what he does is technically assault, just like when Luke put Dean Forester in a head lock, but like that incident was supposed to be viewed as fun, this one is also meant to be taken a bit tongue in cheek. If you can't see it that way however please I do mention that it is kind of assault but also remember Dean Winchester is only four years older than Jess, also unlike Luke there was no pretense that for a long time, when push came to shove he wouldn't regress to an immature little boy in Supernatural (and he was 26 when that started) so what he does is done mostly in jest because we all know if he was being serious about hurting Jess the kid wouldn't have been left standing.**

* * *

><p>Sam bolted down the stairs as quickly as he could almost knocking Lorelai off her feet as he ran to the front door.<p>

"Sam?" Rory yelled as she stood at the top of the stairs.

"Rory?" Richard asked as he saw her face.

"I…don't know he got a text and he…I don't know where he is going," she admitted as Luke took off after the boy.

As Luke got to the doorway he wasn't too sure what to do or where to look, the place was pretty empty, no extra cars, no scenes of destruction such as he had seen in the warehouse the night before, no…well no Sam either and no sign that he had left the grounds of the elder Gilmore's place either seeing how the Gates to the drive way were closed. Although after a few moments all Luke could hear was a piercing scream.

"Will you shut the fuck up while I get you down," Sam was saying as Luke and Lorelai came pelting at full speed round the corner just as Jess started yelling again . Luke was about to move to his nephew's side until well, until he caught the full sight of what was unfolding before him.

As him and Lorelai took in the sight Jess, in his obvious distress and even though restricted in his movement, tried to get some purchase on the wall with little effect causing him to kick out and knock Sam to the ground. Jess slide further down on his perch as Sam let go, causing his face to go white as he bit down hard on his lip as the pain exploded again.

Luke stood there for a moment watching this, not sure what to do, not sure what to say as Sam got back to his feet quickly again trying to support Jess' weight as he tried to get the piece of elastic that was primarily holding Jess in place.

"Be quiet or I put the gag back in," Sam said pushing the boy further and upwards into the rails of that made up the top of the half wall of the edge of Gilmore compound.

"Get the fuck off of me," Jess said as he again began to squirm as Sam changed tact balancing Jess with his body weight as he tried to get to the bindings that were tying Jess' hands behind his back.

"Yeah sure you want that," Sam said as he pulled out a knife to cut the tie.

In response Jess lashed out hitting Sam square in the face. Jess screamed as Sam staggered back at the blow, his weight again only being balanced on the thin elastic of his underwear which was perched on the iron spike of the fence.

"You are not helping," Sam said as he again tried to take Jess' weight.

"Your…" Jess tried to say.

"Yeah, my brother is an ass. But that isn't going to get you down right now. So shut up before they all come out here and see you like this." Sam said as he bore Jess' weight again while the other boy tried to reach around behind him to get to the primary cause of his pain.

"Too late, we are all here," Luke said as he finally made a move to lift Jess off Sam's shoulder, letting the tall boy to get into untangle Jess' underwear from the metal spike.

As he finally freed the elastic Jess let out a sigh of relief as the pressure finally eased and he was put to the ground.

"You okay?" Luke asked his somewhat embarrassed nephew who nodded and blushed as he saw Lorelai standing there.

"That…he…what a dick," Jess mouthed out as he adjusted his pants a little.

"What the hell did you say to him?" Sam shouted accusingly. "What the hell did you do for him to put you the receiving end of the 'wedgie of doom' "

"Seriously, you are blaming me? He's your ass of a brother" Jess said as he shakily took a step forward.

"So it was just the brother did this to him?" Luke asked as he slung Jess' arm over his shoulder and started to guide his nephew towards the house.

"We will talk about this," Luke said.

"What exactly is there to talk about, his brother attacked me" Jess hissed as the y got to the entrance of the house, where Luke guided his nephew to the couch.

"What happen?" Lorelai asked.

"What do you think happened?" Luke said. "Jess had a run in with Sam's brother before he left."

"And he did this to you?" Rory said as she moved to hold a pale Jess' hand. "What did he do?"

Jess blushed as Lorelai snorted out her amusement.

"What did you say?" Sam said coldly, interrupting the scene as Jess shifted uncomfortably.

"Does that really matter?" Richard said. "If people are being assaulted in my home the police are getting involved."

"But…"

"But what, Lorelai?" Richard said. "Someone was attacked in my home. The police are now going to be involved and they are going to take all of this mess and I mean all of it, out of our lives. No more trying to protect anyone."

"Sure you do that," Sam said laughing in disbelief before pulling the cell from out of his back pocket and throwing it at Jess.

"Why don't you call them Jess, tell them everything. Tell them about me lying about who I am, about me being in Stars Hollow, about the warehouse, about the guy in hospital and how he can now star in the fugitive and tell them how the reason why you are talking now and not then was because you wanted to protect me while getting a handle on what is going on. That it had really nothing to do with how some of you really wanted to buy yourself time to come up with an explanation of how you guys and especially Luke there did nothing to stop my dad because 110lb girl was in his way. Tell them that my brother was here and all he did, this dangerous, unpredictable 'criminal' was give you giant wedgie because what...why did he do that to you, Jess?" Sam spat out.

"What did I do?" Jess said getting to his feet. "Your smart mouth of a brother tied me up and hung me on a spike. "

Sam smiled. "You threw the first punch didn't you? He said something, you mouthed back and then you threw the first punch didn't you, Jess. Tell me I'm wrong? Tell me you didn't, tell me that isn't what you did."

"Jess?" Luke asked. "Is that what happened."

"He…he deserved it."

"And he put you in a 'time out' because you were being a little bitch throwing a temper tantrum," Sam said. "So what did he say to start you off? Text said it wasn't really about 'the girl', which generally means… he said something about you being a loser for not moving in on Rory sooner didn't you, which speaks more about you than her or…you cock blocked him, didn't you. The maid? He caught that Inga girl on the way out, didn't he? You got in the way of him and the maid."

"How do you know that?" Jess said as Sam went on.

"But that wouldn't be enough to make hog tie you like he did, even if you tried to smack him one. Dean isn't that stupid, even if you were being an ass," Sam said walking about the room as the rest watched him.

After a moment Sam stopped, grinning from ear to ear. "You insulted his baby didn't you, you insulted his baby and that is one thing my brother has never let anyone get away with. Women are nice but they come and go, they can look after themselves if they want to. But his baby, no - one talks smack about his baby."

"Baby?" Rory said turning to Jess. "Jess, what is he saying?"

"His baby?" Jess spat out in Sam's direction. "You mean that piece of shit he drives."

"Your brother attacked him over a car? He hurt him over a car? Who does that?" Rory said in disbelief.

Sam's face fell as he looked at her. "That…I kind of grew up in that car."

"Sam," Lorelai said quietly reaching out to the boy. "Sam…I"

"No you call them, you call and tell them everything and see what they say. Because unless me or that guy in that hospital bed corroborates everything, all you really have proof of is that Jess just got his underwear shoved up his ass." Sam yelled before he ran up the stairs.

"That boy is on the edge of losing it Lorelai," Luke said as Rory went bounding after him.

"Rory!" Lorelai said as her daughter slammed the door to her room.

* * *

><p>"Sam, I didn't mean to insult…I didn't know about you growing up in a car," Rory said as Sam squatted down over the papers he had set out on her floor.<p>

"Why should you? Normal people don't. Why would you think people would raise anyone in a car?"

Rory hesitated as Sam ignored her, she could hear her grandmother through the door asking to be let in something her grandmother would not be easily dissuaded from.

"Sam," Emily said as she got into the room.

"I'll be gone in a few," Sam said.

"You don't have to, you know," Rory said. "You know, go. You can stay. It's not like you're not normal too. Not everyone spends all their time growing up in a house. Me and my mom used to live in that potting shed when I was little, remember?"

"Yes, she did," Emily said with a slight bitter edge to her voice as her and Rory stood by the door as Sam scanned the papers for a second before picking up two pictures.

"Now we know that this is a stressful period and you are very young but I'm sure with the right legal representation we can get you the help you require. Rory here mentioned you were applying colleges, under your…real name. If you are doing that then you want a real long term future don't you?"

Sam looked up at Emily. "Excuse me?"

"A long term future. If you are talking about applying to a school like Harvard, I assume you have a plan about what you want to do with your life?" Emily said calmly. "You don't apply for Harvard on a complete whim or just to stay close to a girl. If what you just did down there shows half of how clever you really are then it wasn't just my granddaughter that made you think of going to one of the best schools in the country."

Sam glanced away for a moment focusing on the pictures in his hand. "Haven't really touched the Harvard one."

"You shouldn't mumble," Emily said. "But even if you haven't had a chance to complete that application, you have finished other ones?"

Sam nodded.

"Well then you must have a thought about how you are going to support yourself and pay for your time and your choice of studies."

"Grandma, I'm not sure if this is the best time to go on about college," Rory said.

"Why not?" Emily asked. "Sam has a future to think of. You said he doesn't want to be part of this activity. That he has been forced into because of what his family requires of him. But he has his future to think of, if he has an idea that he can be accepted by an Ivy League School then he must have an idea of where he wants to go. Who he wants to be, what he wants to become."

Sam looked at the pictures as Emily and Rory argued behind him. He bolted upright suddenly shoving bits and pieces into the bag.

"Sam?" Emily said as he worked quicker and quicker.

"We missed it, we missed it," Sam was muttering as Rory bent down and gently put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sam?" Rory said quietly before smiling at him. "What are you talking about?"

"It had to know, it had to be sure to know who would be written off," Sam said. "It…the babysitters."

"Babysitter?" Emily asked.

"Sure, it would have had to check and it needed to be close so it couldn't…oh Christ that means we didn't look for her before we blew the place. I didn't think that there would be another…" Sam said before looking up into Rory's eyes.

He sniffed. "It's my fault if they hadn't had to deal with me they would have worked it out before they hit the place. Bobby and Leila would have seen it and we got to get it."

"But them not seeing something isn't you fault they didn't see…whatever you say they didn't see." Emily said before calling for Luke and Richard to come and restrain the boy.

"Sam, you got to calm down, you got to calm down," Luke yelled as he got close to Sam who had jumped up as soon as the large man entered the room. Sam stood there alert for a moment before picking up the half-filled bag.

"Sam?" Lorelai said as she bent down to pick up one of the crime scene photographs that were still scattered on Rory's floor. "What is this?"

"It's…it's…it's hard to explain?" Sam looked around him.

"Are there more of these in that bag son?" Richard asked. "Why don't you give me that and you can explain it to us. You can explain it all too us."

"It isn't what you think," Sam said looking at the horrified faces as the passed the old picture around the little group. "They were trying to stop more of that happening. That is what they do…we…do."

"Sam, can you give me the bag," Rory said taking a tentative step forward causing Sam to tighten his grip round the strap.

"I….need to go to the bathroom," Sam said.

"Bathroom?" Emily said reassuringly. "Certainly. We aren't going to stop you and then we can all sit down and talk about what is in that bag."

"Yeah and I'll go with you, okay?" Jess said.

"I…"

"Jess, I'm sure Sam doesn't need a chaperone," Lorelai said. "Right Sam? And then you can explain everything to us okay."

Sam nodded, tightening his hold on the bag before heading the room two doors down from Rory's room, Jess looked at the picture he had been passed, a grainy crime scene picture of a dismembered little boy from the 1960's.

"That is fucked up," Jess exclaimed quietly as Lorelai peaked round the door to make sure Sam hadn't come out of the bathroom.

Rory squatted down to look at the few papers that Sam hadn't picked up, glancing at them before passing them to her grandfather. "Grandpa. What are we going to do with him?"

"I think, we are going to get you friend a good doctor to help him," Richard said reassuringly.

"Thanks Dad," Lorelai said to which Richard nodded.

"That poor boy," Emily said. "How could anyone force feed a child images like this."

"I know, but we need to call the police now," Richard said. "And we can call Marcus from the club, I know he is an internalist but I'm sure he can recommend someone who can help Sam there."

"Elizabeth's son just started at a practice in town, you remember him don't you Richard. I'm sure she said he did his residency in New York and if anyone needed mental help it is New Yorkers' so Sam there probably wouldn't phase him." Emily said.

"Right, so you got this guy on speed dial?" Lorelai asked.

"Are you sure we are going to need him?" Jess asked.

"Why?"

"Sam has been a while in that bathroom, hasn't he?" Jess replied.

* * *

><p>The door gave after the third attempt and as Jess had thought the room was empty and the small window was open.<p>

"Where could he have gone?" Richard asked.

"I don't know. The Foresters' weren't exactly for welcoming him back long term." Lorelai said.

"He could be heading anywhere," Rory said before looking over at the cistern. "But why did he open that before he left?"


End file.
